Xylem Man by Synapse

2D • Surrealism • posted on Aug 21, 2003

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Description

Your water, my lifeline, into my leaves A decade ago I kept stick insects for a while. Consuming nothing but the leaves of our privet hedge, the phrase "you are what you eat" occurred to me... I reasoned that these creatures must in fact be little more than leaf matter, reconstituted into a mobile entity with a central nervous system and basic "intelligence" (enough to eat and negotiate a jungle of leaf stalks), digestive system and asexual reproductive system. For when (pretty much) only one form of matter enters and exits the creature, that creature can only consist of that matter and to an extent also the atmosphere around it. Also, since these creatures reproduce asexually ("where's the fun in that?") each offspring must be a perfect clone of its one parent. Which makes me wonder - are they all basically identical? ;-) Watching them hatch from their eggs was fun. They were curled up so tightly inside that I used to wonder how these babies could fit inside, they seemed so much bigger than their eggs. Invariably they didn't manage to break completely free of their eggs, and ended up dragging the shells behind them! I would help them out by holding the shells between tweezers so they could pull themselves away. Comical really :-D 170 minutes in Painter 5 and Photoshop 7 Thanks for looking :-)

Comments (23)

photon

7:41PM | Thu, 21 August 2003

Interesting concept. Visually apealling.

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FearaJinx

8:27PM | Thu, 21 August 2003

Wow, that's neat!!! Can you tell me how you did it? :o) I have photoshop and I'm just learning how to layer and blend stuff. lol! Fantastic work!!!

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ysvry

8:29PM | Thu, 21 August 2003

cool picture

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kiresiwel

9:52PM | Thu, 21 August 2003

Excellent all the way. Everything being washed in green is so effective. The way you blended the human form and the plant life is great. Always a pleasure to view your work...

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crrunchyfrog

10:44PM | Thu, 21 August 2003

WOW seems a little cliche, brilliant, just as mundane...MY GOD Jim, this is REALLY freakin' good, I mean REALLY REALLY unreal! I adore it and your thought processes that went into its creation. Thank you SO much for sharing hugs

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bevchiron

12:34AM | Fri, 22 August 2003

I love the way the form emerges from your image, struggling to evolve into something more than it is.... Cassie's right, all those superlatives do seem a little redundant! Great work ; )

Antoonio

12:39AM | Fri, 22 August 2003

Damn, I wrote a long message but explorer fucked it. Well, main things where:
-Hope you do these in BIG resolution, absolute min 3000pix with wider side.
-This style of yers is so original that you're gonna get fortune and fame with it.
-The image blew me away, top class pro image.

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cbender

1:50AM | Fri, 22 August 2003

stunning work - really great composition!!!

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gunsan

2:14AM | Fri, 22 August 2003

Like a bud waiting to bloom you are! This is all very beautiful an full of symbolism.Love the greens and enjoyed your story.

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Synapse

3:02AM | Fri, 22 August 2003

Actually... the stuff about stick insects came at the end when I was entering the text. I wasn't really considering them while making the image, I was thinking more of leaf tissue ;-)

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lumo

3:57AM | Fri, 22 August 2003

your work often sets me the same mood that Cronenberg's movies have. sexual, disturbing and beautiful. I agree with Antoonio's words.

syndroid

11:52AM | Fri, 22 August 2003

The green is wonderful... wonderful i tell you. Stick insect suck though, cuz they do nothing and look like leafs... might as well keep regular leafs in a jar. Anyway, the image is well composed. I like how there's a protective shell over her back and shoulder and that it looks wet/ sticky, yet slick and well defined.

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spidermurph

1:47PM | Fri, 22 August 2003

Well Jimski my naked friend, I've been looking at this wonderful piece all day on and off. I too find you sexually disturbing and beautiful lol. Love the bright green and the sporangium eh! You have a bodysnatchers thing going on here. Enjoy your camping trip dude. Murph

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Synapse

2:00PM | Fri, 22 August 2003

@Rik: Whaddya mean, HER back and shoulder? ;-D

disa

3:52PM | Fri, 22 August 2003

This is one of my fav you have done. Legs and harms hare very very good... I've some doubt about the head, it has lost his femminility. But is a great work anyway!

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Synapse

3:55PM | Fri, 22 August 2003

Erm, there was no femininity in the head anyway ;-D

Tanialmeida

5:07PM | Fri, 22 August 2003

lol, all this comments are quite a treat ;0] actually, the feeling i get is kind of bio meta morphs related, the all image is like a leave, in beautiful green tones, each singing a different song ;0]

cynlee

12:10AM | Sat, 23 August 2003

very cool alien lifepod- luv the marbleized greens :]

jyriviuhko

1:43AM | Sat, 23 August 2003

Very cool!! Love these!

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vbarreto

6:30PM | Mon, 25 August 2003

Wonderful human-insect turning leave. Thoughtful message. Beautiful artwork!!

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tse60

3:01AM | Wed, 27 August 2003

Powerful strike of ART. Vote. :) Mirek

gallimel

7:51AM | Tue, 02 September 2003

Maybe it's because I feel you the way I do.. but I could recognize you in every morphing :) in all these images when people think the model is a female.. i never did. Nor I will. The grace is purely yours :) And yes. this green is simply awesome :) use it more :) On you it looks perfect :)

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