Solution's Divide

The overall intended theme suggests that the scientific method provides solutions to problems in contrast to religion, which not only attempts to solve the same problems (unsuccessfully) but also creates subsequent problems by trying.

The stone puzzles symbolise the process of knowledge and understanding and, when solved, open the gateway to the wonder and beauty of existence. As depicted, the scientist who has successfully solved the puzzle is opening the gate and heading towards a land that appears lush and promising. The path is seen trailing off into distant mountains which reach for the stars, symbolising the limitless potential of discovery for the scientist.

The opposite is true for the priest’s gate, which remains closed, and leads out into an unvisited, unmaintained, desolate terrain devoid of life and brewing with the inevitable tempest of chaos and doom. It is a wasteland, where the violent storm-clouds of disregard and fear gather. There is no life, only ruin, which suggests an unsustainable future for the devotees of blind belief. The priest has discarded the keys to his solution and forcibly pushed them aside, which balance precariously on the edge of the fiery fissure, symbolising his imminent damnation. He instead tries to desperately solve the puzzle with his own convictions, which is futile, as they do not correspond to reality. His crucifix, the symbol of his faith, is preventing him from trying something else, from experimentation, which represents the ignorance of the pious and the ineffectiveness of superstitious thinking.

The fissure that cleaves apart the two terrains between the scientist and the priest symbolises the rift between reason and mysticism, and how the two can never reconcile. The fissure leads to a volcano in the distance, which hints at an inevitable confrontation between science and religion.