Zeno's Paradox

Grade 12 RAP Visual Art

8 x 4 feet, mixed dry media

I created this mixed media piece using graphite, pencil crayon, pen & ink, and chalk pastel. I illustrated a scene with Usain Bolt and an arrow as the two subjects. The basic meaning of the piece is to show a sense of competition between the two subjects.

This competition reflects my own outlook on life since I associate many instances in my day with competition. I was also inspired to make this because of a lesson in my philosophy class. In particular, the philosopher Zeno stood out to me because of his abstract thought process regarding math, space, and time. Zeno came up with 40 paradoxes about the intricacies of the concept of infinity and infinitely dividing space an object travels in half until the movement of the object doesn't exist.

My artwork symbolizes this moment of abstract mathematical immobility since it literally portrays two supposedly moving objects as still and stiff as if they never even moved in the first place. It derives from the paradox of the runner and the paradox of the arrow as well as having some inspiration from the "acheles and the tortoise" paradox. Which is why I named it "The runner and the arrow." I also made it life-size to Usain Bolt's 6'5 height since I am naturally competitive with my classmates.