2023

16 x 20 Inches

Watercolour on Paper , FineLiner , Ink

How do you depict a legacy? How do you pay respect to ancestors? East Asian and East Asian inspired cultures have often been depicted in media as extremely filial. What would be a new way to show this? The Throne of Faces, depicted in this image, is the physical manifestation of the ruling Emperor’s filial piety. Beside his throne there stands eighteen life-like statues of previous emperors, there to ‘consult’ the ruling Emperor in court. At all times the previous Celestial Emperor is helping govern the reigning celestial emperor. This showcases continuity and justifies the Emperor’s reigning authority. Such a practice began with Emperor Goyen, who built a statue of his father, and was continued generation to generation to the present day of All Under Heaven. Their faces of former Emperors are white, it is the Aurei color of death.