Four winged human beings, which are supposed to represent the successors of the crashed Icarus from Greek mythology, fly through a tangle of rays that looks very threatening. This image and all subsequent images from the series of digital painting are in black and white.
‘Flight Perspective Five’ from the picture series ‘Children of Icarus’ / 2021 / Digital painting / Photo exposure on Ilford B/W photo paper glossy / Limited edition: 3 + 1 AP / 13,287 Pixel (H) ∙ 23,622 Pixel (W) / 44.3″ (H) ∙ 78.8″ (W) / Numbered and signed by hand.

The present work is protected by copyright in all its parts.
© 2021 by Heinz Hermann Maria Hoppe.
All rights reserved.

‘Children of Icarus’ /// Digital Art : : :

‘Children of Icarus’ : : : Digital Paintings

The winged group of people is composed of one adult and three small chimeras that have grown wings instead of arms. In this digital painting, the adult chimera looks anxiously at the sky in the direction of the destructive sun. A child chimera is already circling in the sky.
‘Flight Perspective One’ from the picture series ‘Children of Icarus’ / 2021 / Digital painting / Photo exposure on Ilford B/W photo paper glossy / Limited edition: 3 + 1 AP / 13,287 Pixel (H) ∙ 23,622 Pixel (W) / 44.3″ (H) ∙ 78.8″ (W) / Numbered and signed by hand.
The adult successor of Icarus sets for takeoff to escape.
‘Flight Perspective Two’ from the picture series ‘Children of Icarus’ / 2021 / Digital painting / Photo exposure on Ilford B/W photo paper glossy / Limited edition: 3 + 1 AP / 13,287 Pixel (H) ∙ 23,622 Pixel (W) / 44.3″ (H) ∙ 78.8″ (W) / Numbered and signed by hand.
Just before takeoff. With its eyes wide open, the chimera continues to look very worried. The wings are spread wide.
‘Flight Perspective Three’ from the picture series ‘Children of Icarus’ / 2021 / Digital painting / Photo exposure on Ilford B/W photo paper glossy / Limited edition: 3 + 1 AP / 13,287 Pixel (H) ∙ 23,622 Pixel (W) / 44.3″ (H) ∙ 78.8″ (W) / Numbered and signed by hand.
The group flies below the dagger-like rays of the sun, trying to avoid them. The threatening sun is an allusion to the Ikaros saga, in which the wax between the wings melted, causing Ikaros to crash into the sea.
‘Flight Perspective Four’ from the picture series ‘Children of Icarus’ / 2021 / Digital painting / Photo exposure on Ilford B/W photo paper glossy / Limited edition: 3 + 1 AP / 13,287 Pixel (H) ∙ 23,622 Pixel (W) / 44.3″ (H) ∙ 78.8″ (W) / Numbered and signed by hand.
A flying baby chimera from behind in flight. It barely escapes the sharp rays of the sun.
‘Flight Perspective Six’ from the picture series ‘Children of Icarus’ / 2021 / Digital painting / Photo exposure on Ilford B/W photo paper glossy / Limited edition: 3 + 1 AP / 13,287 Pixel (H) ∙ 23,622 Pixel (W) / 44.3″ (H) ∙ 78.8″ (W) / Numbered and signed by hand.
In a nosedive, the four fleeing chimeras fall towards the edge of the picture to the lower left.
‘Flight Perspective Seven’ from the picture series ‘Children of Icarus’ / 2021 / Digital painting / Photo exposure on Ilford B/W photo paper glossy / Limited edition: 3 + 1 AP / 13,287 Pixel (H) ∙ 23,622 Pixel (W) / 44.3″ (H) ∙ 78.8″ (W) / Numbered and signed by hand.
Viewed from a great distance, the entire sun can be seen, under which the four fugitives slip away.
‘Flight Perspective Eight’ from the picture series ‘Children of Icarus’ / 2021 / Digital painting / Photo exposure on Ilford B/W photo paper glossy / Limited edition: 3 + 1 AP / 13,287 Pixel (H) ∙ 23,622 Pixel (W) / 44.3″ (H) ∙ 78.8″ (W) / Numbered and signed by hand.
In the final shot of the series of images, the spread wings compositionally encircle the distant sun.
‘Flight Perspective Nine’ from the picture series ‘Children of Icarus’ / 2021 / Digital painting / Photo exposure on Ilford B/W photo paper glossy / Limited edition: 3 + 1 AP / 13,287 Pixel (H) ∙ 23,622 Pixel (W) / 44.3″ (H) ∙ 78.8″ (W) / Numbered and signed by hand.

Comment
Author: Heinz Hermann Maria Hoppe

On November 12, 2014, the landing unit of the space probe Rosetta touched down on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko to provide data on the early days of our solar system.1 Nothing is impossible for us, not combining gene fragments, not flying to Mars. What our brains can’t do, we replace with Artificial Intelligence. What our bodies can’t lift, cobots will. The search for immortality has begun.

Humans continue to reach for the stars. But we are still doing the math without the host, our planet. Like Icarus, we’re getting too close to the sun again. It could get even hotter. This time, it’s not lumps of wax between feathers that are melting, but the poles of the Earth. Our continued ingenuity in developing technical systems to maximize profit and the relentless exploitation of flora, fauna and fossil resources ultimately endanger all human flights of fancy.

Heat can kill masses. Even a sustained average temperature of +68°F can lead to circulatory failure in high humidity, especially in the elderly. Those who cannot afford regulating cooling technology collapse.2

The digitally painted image series Children of Icarus thematizes human exuberance and the prospect of a hostile environment in which more and more stretches of land are becoming desolate and the habitat of a growing humanity is simultaneously becoming smaller due to rising sea levels.

“The hubris that makes us try to realize the Kingdom of Heaven on earth tempts us to turn our good earth into a hell.”

Free translation! Original quote: »Die Hybris, die uns versuchen läßt, das Himmelreich auf Erden zu verwirklichen, verführt uns dazu, unsere gute Erde in eine Hölle zu verwandeln.«

Karl Popper

Sources:

1 See Rosetta (spacecraft). In: Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: May 13, 2021, 02:10 UTC. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/ w/index.php?title=Rosetta _(spacecraft)&oldid=1022884976 (Date retrieved: June 8, 2021 12:47 UTC).

2 See Hitzetod (German Page). In: Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: January 23, 2021, 22:51 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/ w/index.php?title=Hitzetod&oldid=207997139 (Date retrieved: Juni 7, 2021, 13:41 UTC).

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