THE OTHER SIDE OF MORNING:
A look inside the mind of dark artist Seven
By Patrick Green
A few years ago, I worked on a short film called ‘Daughter Of Joy’. The writer and producer was a man whose name is a number: Seven, an artist of many media, then making his first foray into film. The short was about a chap (played by yours truly) so unhinged by his jilted friend’s suicide that he sets out to even the score. I was struck by the bleak sincerity of the script, and by Seven’s intense drive to make it manifest in celluloid.
Since then, Seven has remained committed to expressing his harsh vision through several forms of expression, showing amazing range in his ability to create devastating and hypnotic imagery.
With a little coaxing, I got Seven to share his strange and dark perspective.
“Generally speaking, the main theme is a broken society. Pain and anguish, desperation, the other side of morning. Some entity beyond me, gives me visuals and I interpret them, perhaps the devil, or my own subconscious. But regardless the other side of the stories must be told.”
That last sentence brings home what I sensed when I first met with Seven; that the inner darkness gathers so thick, like a fog, that it must be vented, or released, or perhaps unleashed. And rather frequently, judging by his prolific output. Seven asserts that the darker side of nature has always been with him, that no specific incident comes to mind that might have served as a catalyst.
“I have always even as a child identified with the villain from cartoons, books, film, and reality. I am always disappointed that the villain never wins… That’s why I show the darker things, people tend to hide from it, and I present it to you, no matter how much you dislike it, that is reality.”
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Seven’s mother, a homemaker and a lovely woman, and his brother, an amiable law enforcement officer. While Seven certainly seems to fit the black sheep mold in this scenario, this is actually a very loving family that offers nothing but support. Considering that Seven has found his path as not only an artist, but a creator of some of the most disturbed shit you’re likely to come across this side of rotten.com, this is what I call going the extra mile in the family support department.
“I have had a lot of support throughout the years, and the thing that makes me happy is when someone contacts me and tells me that something within my art has helped them, or awakened some thought, or creativity. That’s what it’s all about, people need to wake up and change the world we live in. It’s that simple,” Seven maintains.
Of course, there’s a dark side to even that sentiment. A symbol in Seven’s work found its way onto a violent crime scene. “This is what happens when you challenge things,” he asserts.
In preparing this article, I had the chance to view Seven’s work on his website, www.quartiermacabre.com both before and after a recent makeover. Interestingly, a good deal of awe-inspiring material was jettisoned, (along with apparently a facet of Seven’s personality itself) leaving a more streamlined, coherent, and perhaps mature body of work.
That ability to suffer a little death, so to speak, to effectively kill a part of himself and leave not a trace, is perhaps the truest sign of artistic genius. It certainly indicates a belief in what he’s doing, which makes him a rarity in today’s depressingly commercial art landscape.
Example: Seven’s watercolor piece “Into The Grey”. A very vulnerable female figure sits alone on a chair in a bleak, pale blue tiled room that seems to be dissolving, and taking the subject with it. She could be the victim of a terminal illness, just moments after receiving the prognosis. Every moment after will be a countdown to death, a slow slide into the unknown. Is that Seven’s intended “storyline” behind the piece? Who knows? One of the great things about his work is that it forces you to spend a little time with it, exercising your imagination and coming to your own conclusions.
Seven’s next incarnation is a return to filmmaking in earnest. Having completed an eleven minute presentation piece/music video called “Pretty Toy” (View Trailer Here) that would make Tool’s early videos look tame, he is moving forward with plans to delve into feature films, and actively seeking investors.
With yet another medium at his disposal, Seven’s philosophy is set to become clearer -if not brighter.
“We have de-evolved as a species. Humans think that technology and convenience is evolution, but it has only weakened us, and we are reliant on false ideas stemming from religion to beauty,” Seven postulates.
As for his own place in the scheme of things, Seven is blunt. “My work is not ready for society, and no true artist is understood until years after their passing. There are a lot of issues and things that are rampant in our world that not everybody can identify with yet. I hope that my work will help people understand.”
I urge my fellow horror fans to check into Seven’s work, and that of other artists. But be warned. You might just find out how scary YOU are.
Read All Patrick Green’s Wonderful Articles at Grave Misgivings
