The Messenger

Based on the tale "Death's Messengers" [German: Die Boten des Todes] from Grimms‘ Children‘s and Household Tales: Death meets a giant he plans to take, but the giant defeats him. A youth aids Death, who promises not to surprise but send messengers before claiming the helper. With aging, illnesses strike. When Death arrives, the man, expecting messengers, is surprised. 'How,' the man asks, 'do you break your word? Didn't you promise messengers before coming? I haven't seen any.' 'Silence,' Death replies, 'haven't I sent messengers? Didn't fever come, bump into you, shake you, and throw you down? Didn't dizziness numb your head? Didn't gout pinch in all your limbs? Above all, hasn't my brother, Sleep, reminded you of me every evening? Didn't you lie at night as if already dead?' The man, speechless, resigned to his fate and followed Death. _ Background and framework: "Kingdom of the Dreamer" explores the legacy of classical storytelling through DocT’s widely recognized neo-expressionist visual language. Spurred by his reading of Grimms’ Fairy Tales as bedtime stories to his daughter, DocT finds inspiration in how folktales represent both timeless relevance and universally shared cultural lessons. Throughout the collection, familiar archetypes of European folklore converge in resemblance to a fragmented tarot deck. Between the rich colors and visual violence of his gestural marks, DocT’s work navigates a delicate balance between cheerful enthusiasm and terminal dread. _ Process and media: Each work is the outcome of a specifically designed multi-step process, which includes the creation of a series of base images with differing AI tools, the partial blending of the base images, and comprehensive post-editing using Photoshop and other editing tools. In brief, the process engages with techniques of digital collage as a means to create highly personal and emotionally charged works. _ Of note: The majority of pieces from this line of work will be 1/1 NFTs, apart from future airdrops to collectors and occasional edition pieces. Some works may also be available as separate physical artworks in the future, which would not include the NFT.