The Heart is a Dreadful Place to Live In

     My eyes stared in awe as I saw this piece of art. “How much talent can there be on Dave Lock?” I wondered. The painting revealed itself to me as an authentic manifestation of what the heart can do to anyone. Suppressed feelings may damage one’s heart... or one’s heart may damage those suppressed feelings. Yes, dreadful. The splats of orange and yellow gave a dash of verve to the bigger picture of the unhappy face behind it. Those eyes appeared to me as if it was telling me that there is a mystery behind it. They do not uprightly say what it really conveys. However, they have told lots to me – curiosity, fear, disappointment, disgust, and hatred. This double-mouthed creature says a lot about its title: The Heart is a Dreadful Place to Live In; many words are uttered, yet no words explained a single thought. The strong colours of black, orange, and yellow have mixed so harmoniously that no colour overpowered the other. It struck me more because there in the midst of the picture is a withered rose that continually triggers me to ask why. This painting has got me thinking of more questions; and none of it has yet to be answered. That, I think, is how an artist becomes very effective – when he produces thought provoking and independent works.

       If I would direct a film drawing inspiration from the painting, it would be about an orphan named Fernando who, as an infant, was abandoned by his parents during the war. The kid is very witty and is oblivious of other things. He is very philosophical and he always outsmarts everyone that comes his way. He acquires knowledge from books in the mini library in front of the orphanage where he lives. He would always sneak out from the orphanage to get to that mini library. However, even with enough knowledge, he still knows that something is missing. When he grows old, he, then, decides to leave the orphanage and explore the rest of the world for the first time in search of that empty piece. He, then, arrives to a little town called Sola and encounters hoodlums. The hoodlums beat him for being in their territory. During the morning of the next day, he finds himself in a small, native house where he is being nursed by an old woman in the name of Christina Maria. She offers him to stay. Unfortunately, Fernando refuses. The old woman insisted more through a condition: If Fernando stays, she will give her something that’ll live for eternity; if he leaves, he’ll miss that chance. Fernando gets curious and finally accepts. Of course, the lady, tricky as she is, did not give that thing to him yet. The next days are a beauty for them both. In the process, he begins to have strange feelings already. Little does he know that he already knows how it is to feel. Years pass and Christina Maria is already dying. Fernando, then, unexplainably pours tears. As Christina Maria breathes her last, he realizes that the old woman gave him an eternal gift that he has been ignoring – to feel, that is. How dreadful it is to live in the heart. She dies and he weeps.


- Leonor, Zaira Patricia C.