THE LOWBROW TAROT PROJECT

6: The Lovers

I incorporated myself by using the Costa Rican Resplendent Quetzal to represent my ethnic background. The Costa Rican Heliconious Melpomene, or postman butterfly, to represent the angel watching over The Lovers and blessing the bond between the couple with his powerful rays of light which symbolize the highest state of conciousness. I used the butterfly because while doing research, I found that it is a multi-cultural symbol of a carrier of souls to the afterlife. The birds show their connection/bond/union by opening themselves and sharing their essences with each other. This also fits the triangular shape of the original card which symbolized the dilemma of being tempted between right and wrong. The berries and flames symbolize the intoxication of the material world, and their clothing is meant to mimic the birds' plumage in the natural world.

Christopher Umana is an illustrator and native of Southern California who now resides in Northern Nevada. He earned his BFA in Illustration from the Art Center College of Design, in Pasadena, California. His work depicts everyday occurrences from the monumental to the mundane. Umana uses anthropomorphic figures as representations of the people he encounters everyday. He believes there is a connection between people, animals, and insects. He also uses flora and fauna in his work to represent the personality traits of people and how they react and adapt to their lives and surroundings. His recent work focuses on personal topics such as family life and death in correlation with different cultural reactions and superstitions related to these subjects. He draws inspiration from the importance of drawing, and the emotional impact you can create through expressions. This is why Umana’s characters have a tightly “drawn” quality on top of the loose paint. This is his homage to the comic artists who influenced him growing up. It is also a tribute to the expressive and raw style he remembers from preschool fingerpainting.