Pledge Of Coexistence 

Michael Cheval created this surrealist painting entitled, "Pledge Of Coexistence," featuring a land, sea, and sky dynamic. The painting presents an assembly of surreal characters and objects in muted but bright colors. The horizon line cuts the canvas almost exactly in half, meeting at the center of the treasure chest. The subjects themselves are where the painting is most eloquent. The artist has carefully considered how different species can interact in a shared ecosystem. With its wings outstretched, the seagull brings a string of pearls as an offering to the mermaid with golden scales. The human woman, dressed in a pale blue bustier and white skirt, leans calmly against the treasure chest. The painting has an implied structural system of signs through the way in which it depicts an imagined world in relation to our own. The painting destabilizes established meanings and values, challenging fixed meanings to engage with new ways of thinking about space and perception. The painting is not just aesthetically pleasing, but part of a larger cultural and philosophical discourse.