When I was laid off in August of 2023, I entered a fecund period of creation. Just a few months prior to The Great Laying Off, I had taken to begging most of the Hindu pantheon to detonate my life as it was. I didn’t have the gumption (or backup plan) to quit my golden-handcuffs corporate marketing job myself—I needed Divine intervention. The art that flowed forth during this time had more gravitas and intensity than my prior work, with themes of spirituality, life, death, darkness, and renewal surfacing throughout.

I titled this body of work “Tempting the Gods” as tribute and a warning: beware invoking the gods, and be careful what you ask for—you just might get it.