Ego death is a phrase that was first coined by the Psychologist Timothy Leary in his book “The Psychedelic Experience” which is based very heavily off of the Tibetian Book of the Dead. It is an experience that can happen during a profound event such as giving birth, making love or having a general spiritual experience. It is experienced as a feeling of being totally in the present moment; to the point where your sense of self disappears and becomes one with what is happening.

In my work the rainbow eye surrounded by the rainbow shell is a representation of the human ego and the general experience of being human. The visible light spectrum is all our eyes can see and so it is the perfect representation of that. The DNA that stems from the ego shell is simultaneously a chain that binds us to our biological programming and our human-ness; but also a connection to the “other” that allows us to constantly change and grow.

The fire coming from the left and the right is faceted to represent the idea that suffering is the key that drives us to our higher selves. Geometric fire is a visualization of rapidly expanding consciousness. The venn diagram pattern coming out from the top and bottom are an illustration of the two sides of binary thought and feeling perpetually blending together.