Oh, how difficult it is to birth a new painting. There’s just so much energy, thoughts, time, love, joy and despair that goes into each one. And this was one of the harder ones to deliver. 
My mentor felt it was scary when she saw an early incarnation. My wife seemed somewhat freaked out by the “person” in the lower left corner hehe.. 
But we’ll get to that soon. 

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For me though, here was my process.

I had an old frame that I bought during my travels in the Middle East, and I fixed a canvas roll to it. Then I sprayed it black and off-white, blindly and intuitively as before, as part of my process. I had no final concept or idea in mind, just a colour scheme, where I wanted a black or dark background, and then I wanted some very contrasting neon colours on top. Beholding the final painting, I’ve obviously also been inspired to a certain degree by Basquiat for the man in the corner.

 

Then I thought I saw a big, evil face on the far right side. And I started accentuating a few facial details, the nose, the side of the eye, and then I did a weird little thing on the middle left. Like a living cigarette creature with huge horns lol. And then I felt, with the smokey quality of the off-white spray, and the cigarette-like white details, this painting is about quitting smoking, or things disappearing into thin air? No. That’s not it. But even so, I felt compelled to add the glowing red/orange details here - and saw.. Oh my goodness, that’s my name there! In kind of some strange Arabic/grafitti style! Well, I had to leave it of course, it means something!

 

Then, at this stage when it was all black, white and somewhat technological, I felt that this is clearly - obviously - about simulation theory (you need to Google it, it takes too much space to write about). So in this simulated “reality” we all live in, “The Master Composite”, what our brains perceive is real, there’s an engineer, a mastermind, a god, an Oooooverlord (boo!) in charge. Somebody playing the game we call reality. Basically, an Xbox player from a different dimension/reality. 

 

And then I (and who am I in this "simualtion" being my painting) created the one-eyed “egg” (which then clears up the riddle of what came first). Well, it has “skin” or “flesh” so it’s not an egg really lol. And it is basically "digi-god" if you will. I call it “Master A.I.” - but you call it what you feel sounds good.

 

Then  started connecting the red type and the white details with Master A.I., since everything as we know it is generated from that source. On top of that, wanting to give the painting a more digital feel, I then added broad black strokes, smaller black strokes, some small white details, and also all the neon decoration. Of course, I doubt that this simulation is digital in nature, as in 1’s and 0’s. I’m sure it’s something else, wayyyy more sophisticated. But for my painting, and for the limits of the brain that I possess, the digital look works hehe.

 

Then, the guy in the corner. Yes, very Basquiat inspired. But it’s not a true homage (even though I’m a big fan, obvs), it is me. Hrik. This painting is a depiction of the various components that Master A.I. is putting together as the composite Hrik. There’s my real name, in code. There’s the physical me, or how I see myself. There’s a slot of energy coming and going. But everything is decomposed, as in taken apart, and not as in rotting. The full composite would be of “Hrik”, in the simulation, but here it’s de-composited.

 

So looking at it this way (and we should) this is kind of my self portrait, “deconstructed” as a chef would call it. It’s a look behind the veil.

The frame of The Decomposition of the Master Composite is very much a part of the artwork, and that is how it's sold and shipped.
If you are interested in acquiring this piece of art (link in bio), I’m happy to supply additional pics (including of the early stages progress), and answer any questions.