Devan Shimoyama USA, b. 1989

This painting by Devan Shimoyama features a full body portrait of Shimoyama's friend Anthony in a meditation pose. The seven chakras forming the full chakra chart glow on his body, as around him, his body echoes silhouettes, which fan out from the root chakra at the center point.

The work is a second in a series that Shimoyama debuted in the exhibition All The Rage at Kunstpalais in Erlangen, Germany. That exhibition was an exploration of various pseudosciences, healing practices, magic, mysticism, mythologies and religions.

Says Shimoyama, "I’ve noticed through my own exploration of these topics, that there seems to be so many connections, a through line between them. For example, I've invested a lot of time learning about Tarot, getting readings done, learning how to do them, even digging into the history and the related narratives present in the illustrations. I have a strong connection to The Star tarot card, and discovered that the traditional illustration shows seven stars in the sky that represent the seven chakras. The Star tarot card has so much to do with hope, good health and spirituality, and that seems so directly connected to meditation and chakra, which some friends of mine have been looking to recently as a way of healing."