Paintings of Terror

Chapter 293: Antivirus

Mu Yiran gently stroked Ke Xun’s back, helping him relax as much as possible, and spoke in a calm manner: “I think your analogy with antivirus software is quite apt. There are indeed some people who are like tumors on this Earth.

“They pollute the air, land, oceans, and freshwater, cut down forests, slaughter animals, disrupt the ecosystem. For power and profit, they manufacture chemical and biological weapons, leaving the remnants of war to plague generations. For desire and pleasure, they produce drugs, engage in excessive promiscuity. They lack responsibility and moral consciousness, leading to frequent public health issues, causing countless innocent children and adults to die from man-made disasters. Bn2ufc

“I believe these may be what the artist Abel wanted to express in his painting. Environmental pollution, ecological destruction, and epidemic transmission. Humanity not only destroys this planet but also leads its own species to the path of destruction.

“Artist Abel is likely an environmentalist and humanist thinker. This painting is full of irony and criticism. The title ‘Restart’ also reveals his anger and weariness. He hopes to ‘cleanse’ the Earth again through ‘bloodshed,’ killing all human viruses active in the system of Earth, and then restarting it, making the system look anew and restoring normal and high-quality operation.

“In fact, the most unexpected thing about this painting is the name of the artist, Abel. I think it might be the artist’s pseudonym, and this pseudonym is actually a very important clue. Abel is a character in the Bible. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. In Hebrew, the word ‘Abel’ also means ‘breath’ and ‘life.’

“So when we first saw this painting and the name of its creator, we actually got the hint for the first clue. cSGEHk

“And if we associated it with the Bible, then the second clue also appears. In the New Testament of the Bible, the Book of Revelation describes a story about the ‘Judgment Day.’

“The gist of the story is that when the world comes to an end, there will be four horsemen of the Apocalypse riding white, red, black, and pale horses descending upon the earth, bringing plague, war, famine, and death to humanity, who will receive the final judgment. At that time, the heavens and the earth will be disordered, and the sun and moon will change their colors, followed by the destruction of the world.

“In this light, the ‘Judgment Day’ in the Book of Revelation, the ‘Regeneration of the Earth’ in the Mayan prophecy, and the ‘Heaven and Earth, recreated’ in the ‘Tui Bei Tu’ all have similar meaning. Likewise, Abel’s painting ‘Restart’ also signifies this.

“The four horsemen of the Apocalypse representing plague, war, famine, and death are actually what we just talked about: environmental pollution, ecological destruction, and epidemic transmission. The disorder and chaos of all things in the Book of Revelation are almost the same as the disorderly and mixed vegetation in this ‘Restart’ painting. 1wqe8K