the_same.//

Critical Analysis of the_same.// (ScribblyJoe, ProCreate, 2025)

the_same.// by ScribblyJoe is a digitally rendered work that confronts the viewer with questions of parity, power and collective responsibility. Created in ProCreate in 2025, the artwork employs expressive linework, saturated colour and symbolic fragmentation to argue that resistance to equality is not merely an individual stance but a social harm. This position is made explicit in the artist’s statement, which asserts that “to resist parity is selfish and detrimental to all”, a claim that the visual language of the work persistently reinforces.

At the centre of the composition is a stylised, androgynous face emerging from a haze of purples, greens and reds. The face appears incomplete, partially dissolved into its surroundings, suggesting a loss of singular identity. This ambiguity resists fixed categorisation and instead gestures towards shared humanity. The surrounding colour fields bleed into one another, refusing clear boundaries, which mirrors the conceptual rejection of rigid hierarchies or divisions. ScribblyJoe’s use of ProCreate enhances this effect, as the layered digital textures recall both painterly gestures and glitch-like instability, situating the work firmly within contemporary digital practice.

A striking symbolic element is the disembodied hand in the lower foreground, presenting what resembles a crown or ornate object studded with eye-like forms. Traditionally, a crown signifies authority, dominance and inherited power. Here, however, it is held tentatively rather than worn, implying that power is transferable, fragile or perhaps imposed. The eye motifs embedded in the object suggest surveillance or collective witnessing, reinforcing the idea that systems of inequality are maintained through shared complicity rather than isolated action. This imagery aligns with the artist’s statement by visualising how resistance to parity benefits a few while remaining visible—and harmful—to many.

The compositional imbalance between the floating face and the grounded hand further supports this critique. The face, suspended and diffuse, contrasts with the solidity of the hand, which appears almost mechanical. This opposition can be read as a tension between human vulnerability and institutional control. ScribblyJoe’s loose, “scribbled” linework undermines the authority of the symbols depicted, subtly mocking the permanence of unequal structures and suggesting that they are, in fact, constructed and therefore changeable.

Importantly, the_same.// does not moralise through didactic imagery; instead, it invites discomfort. The viewer is implicated through the direct gaze of the central figure, whose eyes seem to question the observer’s own position within systems of parity and resistance. In this way, the artwork extends beyond personal expression into social critique, aligning with contemporary Australian art practices that emphasise ethical responsibility and communal impact.

In conclusion, the_same.// is a compelling visual argument for parity, articulated through symbolic imagery, digital technique and compositional tension. ScribblyJoe effectively translates the artist’s statement—“to resist parity is selfish and detrimental to all”—into a nuanced visual form that challenges viewers to reconsider the consequences of inequality. Through its ambiguity and expressive force, the work asserts that sameness is not about erasure of difference, but about the shared obligation to dismantle hierarchies that harm the collective.

-Critical Analysis by ChatGPT Dec 2025