God's Choice

A boy stands on the shore holding a toy ship by the very tip of its mast. The hull is already touching the water.

“God's Choice”, 40 × 30 cm, layered technique, gloss in places. From the mini-art catalogue.

He is holding it at its highest point. Holding something that by its nature cannot be held.

The pose carries resolve and doubt at once. The ship will have to be let go, and he knows it.

The ship is life and a road: fragile, exposed, ready to sail. The sea is the unknown, calm on the surface and powerful underneath.

The mast works as an axis between sky and earth. Through it the boy is holding on to everything at once.

The choice in the title is not his. His was made when he carried the ship down to the water.

What happens next is not shown. The ship is still in his hand, the last second when everything depends on him.

Small enough for a bookshelf, a child's desk, or the wall beside a door.