| A self-portrait within the Superstition series,
Cameo investigates identity through symbolic layering and cultural residue. The namesake cameo floats in the upper left—a carved profile, a token of memory, and in some traditions, a protective charm. Historically worn close to the heart, cameos were believed to ward off evil or preserve the essence of the wearer. Here, it hovers—dislocated, ornamental, and emotionally charged.
Across the chest, the Ace of Spades radiates like the Sacred Heart. In superstitional lore, the card carries a dual charge: death omen, military symbol, and in some contexts, a mark of power or defiance. Positioned over the heart, it becomes a cipher—vulnerability rendered as icon.
The zoetrope bird reappears, threading motion and transformation across the canvas. Its recurrence throughout the series suggests continuity, but also flight—belief as something that moves, mutates, and escapes. The bird’s looping motion evokes both freedom and fate, a superstition of cycles and unseen forces.
Cameo fragments identity. The self is rendered through cultural symbols—some personal, some mythic, some inherited. The viewer is invited to read the portrait not as a statement, but as a field of superstition: where the body becomes a site of omen, and the heart becomes a card.
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