Oil & Pigment on canvas
60cm x 70cm x 1.5cm
The title of this work comes from Plato's Republic.  When the enslaved manage to escape the cave of shadows and enter into the light of reality, they need someone to help them come up 'the rough ascent'.  The full force of reality is blinding to anyone who has been kept in delusion for all of their lives, tricked into thinking shadows on the wall are real and not comprehending their imprisonment.  Plato here tries to demonstrate in this analogy the difference between the two realms: form and ideal.  The background in this painting is not brilliant light but light through dim comprehension.  It pinpoints the beginning of the rough ascent.