Original artwork description:

"Three Rabbits" by Dominic Virtosu

In Three Rabbits, Dominic Virtosu invites us into a serene yet enigmatic world, where three curious creatures—rabbits—find themselves adrift on an ethereal ocean, their boat floating effortlessly beneath a surreal, glowing sunset. The scene recalls the lighthearted camaraderie of Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat, where three friends embark on a journey full of absurdities, misadventures, and unexpected moments of quiet reflection. But in Virtosu's vision, the rabbits are not embarking on a carefree voyage; their journey is steeped in mystery, introspection, and an unspoken search for something far more profound.

The rabbits—silent, focused—are fishing, yet their purpose is not sustenance, but something far more elusive. The lines they cast into the dark, calm waters do not seek food, but destiny. Are they fishing for a new beginning? Or are they lost, stranded in a sea of uncertainty, casting their hopes into the unknown? Much like Jerome K. Jerome’s trio of adventurers, the rabbits are adrift—but theirs is a voyage not of whimsy, but of existential pursuit.

The boat, floating in the glow of the setting sun, feels timeless, untethered to the logic of the physical world. It drifts not on water, but on the very essence of fate itself. The soft, otherworldly light envelops the scene, evoking both serenity and tension, as though the rabbits’ journey is one of contemplation rather than escape, their fishing lines symbols of hope and desire cast into an ocean where answers may never be found.

The image of three rabbits, united in this quiet, almost meditative task, brings to mind the trio of men in Three Men in a Boat—each character unique, yet bound together by a shared journey. In Virtosu's work, however, there is no comic relief or triviality. The rabbits are not just companions on a boat—they are destiny seekers, navigating a dark ocean of potential, their fate tethered to the very act of waiting and searching. They are both lost and searching, stranded in a space between beginnings and endings, their journey as much about introspection as it is about the mysteries of the world around them.

Three Rabbits is an artwork that speaks to the search for meaning, not through dialogue or action, but through silence and stillness. As the rabbits cast their lines into the darkening sea, we are invited to consider our own place in the journey of life. What are we fishing for? And like the rabbits, do we truly understand the currents of fate that guide us?

In the tradition of Jerome K. Jerome’s lighthearted exploration of life’s uncertainties, Virtosu’s Three Rabbits offers a more contemplative take: a reflection on the unknowable forces that shape us, the moments of stillness in which we are forced to confront our deepest questions, and the elusive nature of the answers we so desperately seek.

Materials used:

oil on canvas