ALEXANDER
WOLFE
Drawing by “The Homebody”, in the year of the Other-Earth 2024. Three drawings on one sheet of paper.
Echoing other Outsider artists such as Henry Darger, Adolf Wolfli, and Bill Traylor, The Homebody delights in bright colors, bold strokes, and has a warm and cartoonish style. With no formal artistic education that we know of, the fact that The Homebody has chosen this medium to serve as a security blanket of sorts is very interesting, as is his choice of subject matter.
In the first of the three sections, we see what can best be described as a colorful rendition of Banksy's “Girl With Balloon”, but with some notable differences. The girl is in full color, on a background of blue, and the hopeful balloon has been replaced with what we can only assume is a drifter. The strange halo around the Drifter-balloon is also an intriguing feature, and a puzzling mystery.
The second piece appears to be a drainage culvert with a street running over it. Weeds have grown thick and what seem to be boards are jumbled in the foreground. The cement wall is adorned with the graffiti: “No Thanks Satan, I'm Actually An Introvert”. This picture attracts particular attention from us, as The Homebody has mentioned that it was, at least at one point, his favorite.
The final picture, taking up the bottom right corner, is easily the most technically impressive. A bright and beautifully rendered sun blazes down on a swaying corn field, out of which sticks a rotting anti-abortion billboard. The board's original message of “Choose... Life...”, perhaps given new meaning due to the state of the world, has been answered by somebody in red paint, boldly: “NO”. The skill displayed in this piece showcases a talent that has been nurtured, perhaps in secret, for some time. The Homebody has already made mention of being embarrassed about his hobbies in the past, and the urge to draw might well be a piece of that puzzle.
Drawing by “The Homebody”, in the year of the Other-Earth 2024.
As The Homebody continues his artistic journey, it seems as though he has begun to move away from depictions of graffiti and towards a tableau of violence, both real and imaginary. It would be difficult to assume that a car wreck would still be engulfed in flames this many years on from an apocalyptic event, so some artistic license is clearly being taken.
It is our assumption that this drawing is very similar in structure to The Homebody's previous offering, being a collection of three separate pictures put into one main drawing, (a triptych of sorts) the difference being the lack of clearly defined borders, creating the illusion that this was one dramatic scene that was witnessed instead of a combination of many with a healthy sprinkle of imagination added in for flavor.
Of particular interest to us is the fascination with human text, each of the three scenes here having an aspect of written communication as a central feature. A mere interest, or a defining trait of an artistic soul? Currently the only art piece to lack text is also the only one that depicts a form of mutated human, an odd coincidence.
Drawing by “The Homebody”, in the year of the Other-Earth 2024.
The Homebody's most impressive artistic feat to date is also his darkest. In what is assumed to be a self-portrait, (most likely done peering into a mirror in an abandoned rest stop somewhere in the middle of Kansas), The Homebody depicts himself as monstrously as the mutated creatures that surround him. It is unclear whether he is truly as gaunt and hollow as he chooses to show himself or if the skeletal appearance is merely a representation of his very humanity withering away.
The significance of the teeth being replaced by fingers is a matter of some debate between those analyzing this tortured man. Theories range from it being a representation infantile regression - the artist desiring to experience the world in a tactile manor with his mouth - to it being a direct connection with the eyeball placed at the back of the throat - possibly a desire to "cover ones eyes" to unwanted personal insight.
One matter not up for debate is the incredible increase in the skill level of the artist himself. The recordings that were recovered from the Other-Earth indicate that The Homebody lived a somewhat repressed life, not feeling safe or comfortable expressing himself artistically, for fear of hearing "people talk." If nothing else, this piece truly shows how repression and a desire for strict "normality" (whatever that might be) suffocates talent, leads to mental stagnation, and has no place in a modern and accepting society.
Bear witness, spread love, and fight the Men In Suits that see you as only a stepping stone to their power fantasy. They are a cancer, and if they are not cut out, our great Humanity-Body will rot and die, slowly and painfully.
Drawing by “The Homebody”, in the year of the Other-Earth 2024.
Colorful, dramatic, and violent. These are the words that come to mind when you gaze upon the latest offering from The Homebody. Based on what has been revealed in the latest update from the Voices, we assume that this is a representation of the murder of The Homebody's wife and daughter.
The color choice is very interesting here, with The Homebody rendering himself in a deep splash of several colors, reds and oranges on the borders fading through yellows and greens into deep blues at the core. Alternatively, the Wife and Daughter figures seem to have little color associated with them, giving us the impression that color is inherent to life, somehow. One of our researchers is adamant that the colors used by The Homebody are meant to represent an oil slick after the rain – a spot of poison on wet ground – but there is no evidence to confirm or deny this.
The ways the The Homebody continues to warp his own body are very telling about his mental state. Here we can see the fingers turned into knives, the things that used to be used to touch and love those around him are now weapons of destruction. Note too the absence of light and color from his eyes – if color is inherent to life, as we earlier presumed, that leads us to presume that he has become “dead behind the eyes, sacrificing much of his humanity in this action.
One is also led to wonder if the hands becoming knives is a clue as to the method of execution. If so, feeling forced to end the lives of your family with a knife would leave much different scars than doing it more impersonally, such as with a gun. It all begins to add up to a picture of one very sad man, searching for a family after he spoiled the last one.
Two drawings by “The Homebody”, in the year of the Other-Earth 2024.
Two samples of The Homebody's most enduring work: his posters.
On the left we have the text "Gone North To Chase Dreams And See The World". Our figure, obviously a self-insert of The Homebody himself, travels in rags, a skeleton of his former self. A grin is plastered across his face, without lips he has no choice in the matter. His eyes are empty holes sunk into a broken face. One wonders just how far he'll be able to chase those dreams, and whether he might have the strength to finally catch them.
On the right we have the text "Gone North To Ruin Lives And Hurt People". In this piece The Homebody has cast himself as some sort of feral combination of animal and man. A blue frill emulates both the neckpiece of a mad clown and the neck sack of some sort of poisonous tropical lizard. A switchblade is held threateningly in hands that could only be meant to hurt. The forked tongue looks both ready and willing to consume anything left over. This is the art of a man who deeply fears something inside himself.
The final drawing by “The Homebody”, in the year of the Other-Earth 2024.
The last artistic piece that we can reliably attribute to The Homebody was found at the sight of the Green Thumb disaster, atop a small cylindrical structure. A haunting piece, done in muted colors, depicts what seems to be a Blob surrounded by carrion birds, either crows or ravens. A skull lays nearby, and the background showcases a muted and somehow sickly rendition of a sunset. The face of the Blob seems to display fear or horror in it's gaze, implying an intelligence of it's surroundings, and possibly a notion of what might be coming next. It is a piece showcasing an ending, but one that is not entirely colorful nor entirely black and white, rather residing somewhere in between.
Though he will never hear it, we at the Voices From The Umbra Organization wish to thank The Homebody for sharing his artistic talent with us. He unknowingly gave us a glimpse at a beautiful and tortured soul attempting to express himself even when there was nobody to express himself to. It is a tragedy that he never knew how big of an audience he finally had.