In ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’, Haz Yusup introduces a body of work that weaves together the universal experience of falling in love and heartbreak. A fitting title borrowed from Hieronymus Bosch’s famous depiction of The Garden of Eden, the mortal realm, and hell, the themes present in Yusup’s work are parallel to Bosch’s three panelled painting. In the first panel, Bosch portrays the Garden of Eden in all its glory, pure and untainted by the stain of mankind’s sin. In contrast, the centre panel reveals the imperfect, sinful nature of humans while the final panel illustrates the consequences of our immoral indulgences in a hellscape of fire.
The concept of love, lust, sin, and punishment are themes that have been prevalent in art from as far back as the Renaissance era. Similarly, from biblical portrayals of the Garden of Eden to Claude Monet’s paintings of lily ponds, gardens have remained a subject of interest in art for centuries. Often linked to notions of paradise, fertility, life, passion, and femininity, they have traditionally expressed universal stories.
The garden Yusup depicts is not literal, but metaphorically constructed in a contemporary fashion. Employing the classical figurative style and elements of nature as vessels to tell the story of love, betrayal, and heartbreak, she reminds us that love can nurture, but can also hurt.
