The scarab... How much symbolism is behind it. Let me tell you first why I chose it for the "Insects" series. The series was formed in my head somehow at once and instantly, all three paintings, with a full range of colors. The task was to illuminate each insect as brightly as possible, to show the play of light glare of precious stones on their wings. To bring their unreality and uniqueness to life. To tell what they mean in their impulse to give wholeness to the author's idea and exposition at the exhibition. Yes, the whole series, as well as the title picture, were written purposefully for the theme "The Element of Color and Waves". It all worked out. I tell you about the symbolism of the second work from this small series.


The scarab resembles the May beetle, although they are different insects and their wings and body structure are also different. Even if you have had a little contact with Egyptology (at the level of popular movies and tourism), you are definitely familiar with the canonical images of this favorite symbol of priests and kings.


So, in Egyptian mythology Scarab symbolized renewal, rebirth (this is the function it represents in the painting The Last Supper of Flowers...) and, most importantly, the creative power of the Sun. Remember the disk that the Egyptian scarab held in its paws? It was there for a reason.


In my painting, the sunlight spills into the background, the central figure is the insect itself, as was intended for the entire series. Both the dragonfly and the scarab act as symbols of rebirth, rebirth, and in my interpretation for this series, as a symbol of rebirth from the afterlife to the mundane (the scarab, exactly so from the afterlife to the mundane, although according to the Egyptian canon it was the other way around) and from the mundane to the heavenly (the dragonfly). And the butterfly, the third picture, acts as a symbol of the soul, purity, spirituality and divine rebirth.


The series perfectly complemented the central painting painted for the theme "The Element of Color and Waves". How could such a volume of colors do without brightly colored living creatures? Each chose its own blade of grass or flower to sit down and take a break in flight.


You can see the painting live until July 25, 2025 at Artefice Gallery at 22 Petrogradskaya Naberezhnaya Street, Petrogradskaya Naberezhnaya, 22


"Scarab. Insects", dry pastel, Canson 65x50cm cardboard, June 2025, Asiya Konechenkova, WizmArts


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