Cynthia Grow

Echoes

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...Strangers passing in the street

By chance two separate glances meet

And I am you and what I see is me...

               

Series inspired by the Pink Floyd song “Echoes” and their 1972 film performance “Live at Pompeii.” The song and lyrics describe the human condition and the interaction among us.

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“Echoes,” as Roger Waters declared in an interview, was the attempt to describe “The potential that human beings have for recognizing each other’s humanity and responding to it, with empathy rather than antipathy.” The song describes precisely the potential that mankind has and has remained unexpressed, suffocated by ambitions, by the pursuit of success, power, and money. The whole song is an invite to meditate, to rejoin the universe, to full harmony. An invite to seek what’s essential, to target the sharing, the solidarity, the abandon of our individualism.

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The song also speaks to the beauty of nature – sea, sky, land. Much like the breaking waves of the ocean affect the deepest coral caves, humans are interconnected. In fact, Jacques Cousteau played “Echoes” on many underwater diving expeditions. It is essentially a sound poem, which I have worked to capture in my painting. Atmospheric pink – a metaphor for clouds and a nod to the band’s name. Green – to represent nature and the primordial ooze we all come from. An entity floating through the atmosphere, dissolving to its bare essence.

 

“Echoes” explains that we are all equal, no matter what. There may be different races, languages, colors, boundaries, abilities, disabilities, but we are united by a common group called ‘Humans.’ We are speaking about a search for universal empathy. Through another human being, one should be able to see themselves. That is called ‘empathy.’ The world would be a much better place if we all felt empathy towards one another and treated our fellow man with kindness. And respect.