"Carry On" by Alexia Tiches

Acrylic and Glass Beading

20'' by 16''

Painted with acrylic and accented with glass beads, here lies “Carry On”.

Vultures are harbingers of death. Creepy, skeletal, falling behind the smell of rot, these prehistoric creatures haunt our primordial fears. One day, we will all be pecked by the giant bird and pooped out in a random field. However, like sparrows and robins spread cherry seeds, which grow into new fruitful trees, the vulture is simply doing its part to continue the ecosystem. Not as cute, not as inviting, but equally important to the ecosystem.

At some point, we play the roles of both carrion and vulture. We feed on dead plants and animals for nutrients, for great pieces of literature, for art. We suck the sweet wine of Jurassic beings and use it to fuel wars, commuter traffic, and see our families over the holidays. Out of the destruction of others, we create immense feats, we express love, we create meaning during our lifetimes until we become a carcass that will ultimately support another life form.

The beauty of vultures lies in their horrifying relationship with the carrion it feasts upon. These decomposing bodies—deer, rabbits, horses, what have you—represent all of us, including vultures themselves. They are cannibals, because once dead, all flesh is fair game in the cycle of rebirth. There is no distinction of species, and ultimately no separation of carcass and decomposer, because what was once a decomposer will one day become a carcass. Horrifying and ominous, the vulture enjoying his meal reminds us to carry on despite our unified fate of becoming a carrion one day.