THE SCALE OF NATURE IS JUST/NOT FAIR

This painting uses abstracted birds as a metaphor for balance, hierarchy, and contradiction within the natural and human worlds. Birds—symbols of freedom, movement, and perspective—are rendered unevenly, some dominant, others diminished, suggesting a scale that is simultaneously just and unfair. Nature operates by its own logic: precise, indifferent, and unapologetic. Survival is not equal, yet it is consistent.

The abstraction disrupts romantic ideas of harmony. Forms overlap, shift, and compete, reflecting how ecosystems—and societies—function through imbalance. Size, placement, and tension between the birds speak to power, vulnerability, and chance. Who rises, who falls, who adapts, and who disappears is often determined by forces beyond control.

The title holds a deliberate contradiction. Nature is just in its rules, yet unfair in its outcomes. This duality mirrors human experience, where effort does not always guarantee reward, and innocence does not ensure protection. By abstracting the birds, the work moves beyond species and place, allowing the metaphor to resonate universally. The Scale of Nature Is Just / Not Fair invites reflection on acceptance, resistance, and our place within systems far larger than ourselves.