"Fortune Fella"

This work was conceived from a memory of a paper folded object from my childhood. I wondered what it would look like adorned with detailed drawing and ornamentation. I had to look up what it was called and after reading through every volume of the encyclopaedia and not finding it, I decided to check the internet. The AI scrapers said it was called a “Chatterbox” in the UK and Australia and “Fortune Teller” in the US.

While I am not able to subscribe myself to any specific religion or set of beliefs, I have enjoyed the aesthetics and symbolism of Tarot, Mysticism and the Occult. I have also been inspired by William Blake’s composite self-published works as to me they convey the joy of unfettered imagination and the conviction to pursue what he enjoyed even though many others didn’t enjoy it at the time.

I used a modified version of a Tarot deck with 20 cards corresponding to each section of the folded paper. I named him “Fortune Fella” and imagined he would say something like “Hi! I’m Fortune Fella. I can’t read your fortune but if you give me a question, I will give you an answer.” I would like to continue developing Fortune Fella’s story in the future using text-based illustrations with more detail about the reading/meanings of the cards, folding instructions and a larger version in acrylic paint on canvas.