Plucking Daisies, Sisyphus Skull and Counting The Beats

Set of 3 figurative paintings, 2024 by Francisco Larios
From The Series Khloris
Acrylic, pastel chalk, airbrush, and automotive lacquer on canvas
Mixed media on canvas
Overall size: 77.5 in H x 196.5 in W
Individual size: 77.5 in H x 65.5 in W
Unframed

The “Plucking Daisies” offers rich ground for philosophical interpretation, particularly through a Heideggerian lens. It invites us to contemplate our own existence, our relationship with death, and the nature of the world we inhabit.
Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), a prominent philosopher of the 20th century, delved into the nature of being and existence. His concept of "Dasein" (literally, "being-there") refers to the unique way in which human beings exist in the world. The garden, with its cycle of growth and decay, represents the cyclical time of nature. On the other hand, war drones symbolize the linear time of history, marked by technological progress and violence. The juxtaposition of these two times creates a tension that reflects the human experience of being caught between nature and culture, past and future.
At the center of this image is a confrontation with mortality. The ghostly central figure embodies the transience of human existence. This stark reminder of death highlights our being in the world. The forest and the garden, as symbols of both the wild and the cultivated, the forest, a recurring motif in Heidegger's thought, serves as a backdrop to this confrontation. Not simply a physical setting but a place where Being develops, the forest, with its intricate network of paths and hidden depths, reflects the complexity of human existence. It is a place where we find our own mortality, our limitations and our interconnection with the natural world, the garden, can be inferred as a potential space within the forest. In Heidegger's philosophy, the garden represents a cultivated space, a place where human intentionality shapes the natural world, it is a microcosm of our relationship with Being, and represents our ability to shape and cultivate the world around us, The garden, in this image, is more than a picturesque landscape, it is a symbol of hope, resilience and the lasting power of life that reminds us that, even in the darkest of times, there is always the possibility of renewal and growth, the garden plays, therefore, a crucial role in The philosophical interpretation of "Plucking Daisies", is a beacon of light in a world that is often shrouded in darkness.
"Plucking Daisies" is an image that explores the interaction between Being and Nothingness, the natural and the artificial, the organic and the technological, where we can find the limits of our own understanding and the immensity of the world beyond our control, an extraordinary, mysterious and unique world, this wonderful garden that we have, and that with its vibrant life and lasting beauty, are a reminder of our responsibility to care for the natural world and find our place within it.

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Francisco Larios (Guaymas, 1960) lives and works in Monterrey, Nuevo León. He studied design and specialized in Art History at Universidad La Salle, Laguna.

Larios participated at the XII Bienal “Rufino Tamayo” and Bienal FEMSA, Mexico City, Mexico; VII Bienal de Cuenca, Ecuador, and was awarded the Prize for Painting Acquisition Reseña de la Plástica de Nuevo León. He is a fellow member of Sistema Nacional de Creadores FONCA.
His work belongs to public and private collections such as the Museum of Contemporary Art de San Diego, California; Museum of Fine Arts de Houston, Texas; USA, Colección FEMSA, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey (MARCO), Monterrey, Mexico; Museo Rufino Tamayo, Museo Carrillo Gil and Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City, Mexico.