A face emerges from the canvas, rendered in quartz sand—its features delicate, almost ephemeral. This is not a traditional portrait but an impression, as if the visage has been pressed into the surface, leaving behind a subtle trace. The granular medium blurs the lines, evoking a sense of both presence and absence.
The title references the myth of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun, leading to his downfall. Here, the "stain" suggests the moment of impact—the fleeting imprint left upon descent. Rather than focusing on the fall itself, the work captures the transient mark of existence, the delicate balance between ascent and decline.
Framed in gold leaf, the piece juxtaposes the opulence of ambition with the fragility of human endeavor. The sand medium reinforces this dichotomy, emphasizing impermanence and the erosion of memory. It's a meditation on the traces we leave behind and the enduring echoes of our aspirations.
