BeAware The Silly Youniverse is the title of my current work in progress. I
am not known for my brilliantly correct spot on spelling and I am a
genuine butcher of words. I like words (they are useful) and if you look
carefully you can find truth in them, especially if you take them apart,
sound them out, and play with them. Sometimes, their original intention is
astoundingly amazing and our everyday use of them dulls our awareness
of their shining goodness. Other times, you can create whole new meanings
for a word or phrase; by being playful, you give language life.

The skull and cross bone design is a very old image that was used to inspire
dread in the viewer and has been used by pirates and the Illuminati for
centuries. The traditional skull and cross bones came to be known as the
"Jolly Roger" or Joli Rouge meaning "pretty red". The name came from the
practice of Pirates soaking a piece of fabric in blood and hanging it from
their flag masts. Some pirates also had their very own style of the skull and
cross bones, some with swords, hearts, etc. When I was growing up, my folks
would take me to the flea markets in Winston-Salem where many vendors
displayed their  wears and flags (often rebel flags) covered in skulls and
grim reapers.  These images scarred the S***t out of me. (I had an over
active imagination). The skulls  intended effect of inspiring fear is still
prevalent but softened by the rising popularity and interest in the taboo in
popular culture. The pirate flag has been adopted by some as a symbol of
independence and therefore, ultimate personal freedom, like the flags at the
flea market representing a F**k you to authority.

I have always loved to play with the taboo subjects of death and
transformation.  I wanted to create my own version of the skull and cross
bones and instill my personal transformative intention behind it. I want to
drain the fear out of it by making it smile realllllly wide. The open gesture of
the  eyes suggests a readiness for the possibility of everything. A spiral
universe rests in the third eye. The bones have been turned into little hearts.
This is an image intended for communicating to you, which brings us to the
You in Youniverse. What we fear in the image of a skull is our own death.
We are the one and eternal beingness. Our fear of an end is a sick and silly
game we play with ourselves and others. As much as we fear our end, I think
that most people are afraid to exist, failing to embrace the aliveness and
magic within themselves. To embrace life in its fullness without fear is the
ultimate freedom.


Blue Broxton
BeAware the Silly Youniverse