For this upcoming collection I want to do something more grandiose than my prior works, in both construction and imagery.
Considering the weight of this ensemble, I felt that a primordial theme could help relate the message. The rejection, rage, and remorse Cain experiences in Genesis 4 seemed most appropriate. But reading between the lines, I found a more salient story that’s isn’t often shown.
As punishment for killing Abel, Cain is banished to Nod, where he becomes a “restless wanderer” marked by the Lord God. Eventually he founds a city and names it after his son, Enoch. Biblically, that’s the completed work; but there’s so much unrealized potential in that parable. I want this collection to narrate the missing piece.
When someone goes through the cycle of rejection, compulsion, and guilt, what happens after the dust settles? When the marked wander Nod, where do they find sanctuary? Cain attempts to build his, but finds it difficult. Consumed by remorse and self-loathing, he seeks counsel to aide his rule. Ultimately, the counsel he finds is guilt personified and epitomized in dress. He finds their guidance comforting. Soon his halls are occupied by its courtiers: Mutilation, Lethargy, Severance. A cycle of self-immolation is perpetuated until an heir apparent is raised. Enoch, first born of compounded original sin, sees that the lingering consequences of guilt aren’t contracted; reminding his father that they are subject to his free will.