The Peacock

Sudheera Dissanayake (Sudjuice), The Peacock, 2023, Synthetic Polymer on canvas, 123 x 90cm

'The Peacock' draws inspiration from Aesop’s fable The Peacock and the Crane. In the story, the crane rises with a natural ease while the peacock, dazzling but earthbound, watches from below. The moment makes something clear. What we show on the surface is not what allows us to rise. 

This painting reflects that pause of self-recognition. It looks at the tension between how we see ourselves and what we hope to become. Rather than retelling the fable, it focuses on the shift that happens when comparison gives way to clarity and identity begins to change.