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| WOODunart - Pulling At His Chains |
Woodunart's image of a chained captive has a marvellous sense of a big man's strength and exertion. The angular brush-strokes seem to invoke a sense of fierce, dogged determination. His face and body both gleam with the profuseness of his sweating. The marks on the underside of his thigh suggest this burst of energy might have been prompted by the cruel chastisement of his overseer.
The exotic beard and bandages give the picture an almost biblical dimension to Western eyes and I suppose you could say the same for the optimistic, almost manic, facial expression. He's like a latter day Sampson straining at his restraints, determined and confident that one day he will regain his freedom - or if not that, revenge at least for this undeserved humiliation.
You might see him as a warrior bought low by his captors or he might be a charismatic, modern day sportsman, once noted for his inspiring play and ethnic flamboyance on the field, but now expelled from the game over 'irregularities' that exposed him to the revenge of envious rivals. Now the star player is reduced to simple, manual labour, shifting rocks and rubble in a bleak and ugly, grey quarry. His physical strength is still truly valued and exploited by those who now own his soul, but there are no spectators here to cheer him on in his efforts. Only the urging of the whip, whenever he flags.
The dynamic, tactical skills that once galvanised a crowded, noisy stadium and inspired a whole team of magnificent men count for nothing here. He can only use them to plan for the day of his liberation.
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See more images by this artist and links in the mitchmen A-Z of Fetish Artists review of Woodunart's work. He's now on Twitter, DeviantArt (small selection) and Instagram as well as the Tumblr site referenced in the original mitchmen article.
For other 'Enslavement Fantasies' at mitchmen, click on the label at the foot of this post