The Spectacles

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or mThis illustration is inspired by The Spectacles by Edgar Allan Poe. My concept was to contrast two ways of perceiving the world: with glasses and without. When the man removes his spectacles, everything appears blurred; in this haze, he mistakes a seventy-year-old woman for a young and beautiful lady, eventually marrying her—unaware that this is all a trap set by his friend.

To express this, I constructed a dual perspective: the world outside the glasses and the world within them. The outer world represents the man’s indulgent fantasy, in which he is deeply entrapped. The inner world, however, reveals reality. Its swirling, vortex-like background emphasizes the depth of truth and the impossibility of escape. In the man’s hand, he imagines holding a vibrant, flawless rose, symbolizing his idealized longing for beauty in love. Yet, reflected through the glasses, that same rose appears withered, signifying decay and decline.

This visual contrast is intended to make the man’s intoxication appear even more absurd, thereby heightening the irony and satire of the scene. To further stress the deceit, the woman inside the glasses crosses her index and middle fingers behind her back, underscoring that the entire romance is nothing but a sham.

Ultimately, the inner and outer worlds stand in stark opposition—the darkness of reality violently colliding with the allure of illusion. have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.