Womb To Tomb 

This work by Dave Macdowell, whose dates are unknown, presents a contemporary vision of life in painted form. Immediately striking are the images of mortality, from the mother and child at the very start of life's path, to the grim reaper at its close. Note the figure of Ronald McDonald, an icon of modern consumerism, holding a grotesque baby. This motif echoes the Madonna and Child. Consider how this modern redeployment of a traditional motif can also be found in religious works of the Early Renaissance. It is not simply imitation, but a reinvigoration, charged with new anxieties. The emotional tension between reverence and irony reflects our collective struggle with consumer culture. This image, like a recurring dream, reminds us that symbols are never truly lost but are continually being reshaped by our subconscious desires and fears. The wheel turns, and the sacred becomes profane, only to be reborn again.