the mantler
linocut. 8x10. The candle featuring the mantler appears elsewhere in the galleries, but here he is taking a break from the spotlight chilling on some Thai unryu paper. Of course, as you can see, he's also capable of hiding in some argyle. If you missed the background on the mantler, here it is again: Born first of stag and human female millennia ago, the Mantler race has long done its best to keep itself hidden from the sight of deer and man alike. “An abomination,” they would say. “A farce.” And so it was for an untold number of years that few were the eyes that lit upon this beast so self-censored from the volumes of bestiary. They stood at the apex of the crafts of hiding and secreting, concealing and being concealed. Yet, is there pride to be found there, behind the opaque shroud? No. And is there justice in there? Certainly not. It is as if the hope of escaping the judgments of bipeds and ruminants alike were thought to be noble in act, but, alas, therein lies no fidelity to either lineage. And so it was that one day, taking a stand for his entire race, the Mantler put on slacks, buttoned up his shirt and went to work as a regional sales manager for some mundane corporation that need not be named. Are you a human? Deer? Both? Then fight the fires of fear with the flames of this candle. Stand with the Mantler. We are One. |