Fish Out of Water

This painting explores Albedo, the stage of transformation associated with clarity and conscious awareness after a period of inner darkness. While Albedo is named within alchemical tradition, its meaning appears across mythologies worldwide: light emerging after descent, life returning after chaos, consciousness surfacing once the underworld has been crossed. From flood myths to resurrection stories, this moment of illumination marks the psyche’s return from immersion to awareness.

In Jungian psychology, Albedo describes the point at which unconscious material becomes visible, and the psyche begins to understand itself rather than remain submerged in instinct or projection. The fish, lifted from the water and given legs, symbolizes the emergence of consciousness from the unconscious and the learning to stand in awareness. Its many eyes suggest an awakened psyche capable of reflection and self-observation.

Beneath it, the fish casts a shadow, a direct reference to the Jungian Shadow, the hidden or denied aspects of the self that must be acknowledged rather than rejected. This integration is central to the process of individuation described by Carl Jung. The moon represents inner illumination, while clouds and water reference the subconscious layers that still surround the figure.

Although clarity has been reached, the past remains present. The painting holds a moment of recognition rather than resolution, capturing the tension found across myths and psychological transformation alike: seeing oneself fully, light and shadow together, and learning how to live with that awareness.