Deity

"I want the gates to look like the entrance to the crypt of a goddess…" –Caio Dunson
It was from these words of Caio that I took my initial direction and inspiration for the Deity front gates. I wanted to create a look that bridged the ancient and the modern. Their weathered and worn appearance helps to span this gap. Because the main stairs descend directly from behind the gates, I wanted to emphasize the distinct difference between the surface' realities that we live with, and those that lie beyond. The tree motif symbolizes a life lived and all that it's 'branches' have touched. The tree's roots descend downwards toward the earth, tying the living to the genealogy of the dead. What is left on the surface represents the life before: the three orbs are embodiments of the sun, the earth, and the moon. The skyward stretch of the tree's limbs signifies the struggle of life in general. What lies below is an escape, a reprieve– a chance to go beyond the banality of the everyday. It is the frozen terrestrial scene above that reminds us to live for the present.