Everything in life is "chance" and we, as humans, play the "game of chance" every day. Life is a perpetual dance with the unknown. We are essentially "leaves in the stream."
However…
the human opportunity, as one navigates the stream, is "choice."
John Steinbeck in East of Eden, referring to a Biblical verse in Genesis that states "thou shalt," evokes the alternate expression, "thou mayest" (timshel in Hebrew). He is exploring the idea of human choice and speaking to the distinction of humans having the ability to make life choices. We are swept along by the stream of chance, but all our outcomes are impacted by intention. He describes the "glittering instrument, the human soul. It is a lovely and unique thing in the universe… because 'thou mayest.'"
So the game is a game of chance - life as it happens - and choice, the longing of the soul, as the vehicle of our deepest intentions. Both are equally significant and always at work to affect human destiny, synchronously influencing one another.
These prints engage this idea in multiple ways. Each print provides a visual image for an act or concept that could be either chance or choice. It introduces an interesting question by offering small vignettes for discussion.
Even the act of making these collages engages chance and choice. The materials are "chance" materials from repurposed prints…offering what is left. Careful choices are then made to construct the images from these random pieces.
Erika Radich
March 2020