This powerful piece captures the solemn profile of an elderly Black man, his prickly white beard weathered like tree bark—testament to a life rooted in resilience. From his eyes upward, he is consumed by a crown of flames—an arresting visual metaphor for the mental and emotional blaze ignited by knowledge. The fire is not destruction, but revelation: a searing awareness of history, injustice, and ancestral truth.

In this work, the flames symbolize the paradox of awakening—how truth can both illuminate and scar. It is a portrait of wisdom gained at a cost, of understanding that leaves marks no one else can see. The more one knows, the hotter it burns.

"Scorched By Knowledge" invites viewers to confront the weight of inherited memory, and the fire that comes with knowing too much to ever be silent again.

Medium: Acrylic
Size: 30x30
Availability: Original available / Limited prints available