“Artist Adrienne Elise Tarver had been interested in tarot for years, but she never really saw how the practice could fit into her artwork. But all that changed in mid-2020 amid Black Lives Matters protests and the ongoing pandemic. “It was like this veil between these things that we didn't talk about before [was lifted],” says Tarver of the summer of 2020. “Our real-life became so thin and permeable, that this idea of talking about spirituality, the future, and terror, felt much more serious. It felt like a necessary investigation for myself, and a necessary conversation for me to have.” Soon after, Manifesting Paradise — a hopeful, tarot-inspired project that looks to the future — was born.”
“In traditional decks of tarot, there is always a tower card that depicts a tower being struck by lightning and engulfed in flames. The “tower” symbolizes a moment of great destruction, but also, rebirth. “Looking at the Tarver plantation, I realized it needs to go up in flames,” she says. She began painting the plantation house not restored, but instead, engulfed in fire.”