Constellation Scorpio by Shay Bremus

Shay Bredimus was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1979 but grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. Bredimus had a troubled youth in Phoenix. He realized he had to leave the city in order to have a future. Bredimus received a Bachelor Fine Arts from the Emily Carr University in Vancouver, Canada and a Master of Fine Arts from Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna, California. In addition to painting, Shay Bredimus is a renowned tattoo artist. He resides in Long Beach, California.

Constellation Scorpio is 17” x 11”. 

The media used to create the piece is tattoo ink and wax crayon on drafting film. The unusual media choice is a Bredimus trademark stemming from his work as a tattoo artist. In the piece a scorpion is transposed over the face of a woman in the center of a black background. The woman has a forlorn look on her face as she gazes off into the distance. The piece is black and white with rays emitting from the scorpion. Constellation Scorpio is a visual representation of the Scorpio card from the Seni Horoscopes, a 17^th century German fortune telling system. The heavy use of black and opaque material adds a feeling of heaviness or impending misfortune. 

This particular artwork caught my attention since my astrological sign is Scorpio. I have always found astrology to be interesting; especially since it can have a strong impact on people who truly believe in the stars and fortune telling. I was inspired by the approach Bredimus took. On one hand, the artwork follows a traditional approach in representing the human form. The faces are very realistic. However, the nontraditional media gives a fresh approach to a very old, 17^th century practice. Each piece in the show has layers and a very confined or boxed feeling. I would imagine that the envelope approach we used in class was used to define the borders of the subject. After seeing the show, I would like to incorporate more layering in my own work and push how I use space. Both aspects drew the viewer in and forced you to take a longer look at the artwork.