Synroot’s Tomb (the work above) serves as a window onto a fictional character through the lens of archeology. Knowing only that this is the tomb of a single person, what can be discovered about them, simply through its contents?

I concocted the idea for a series of tombs, using members of my family as templates, for a grant proposal. This character is based on my then ten-year-old son (Synroot is an anagram of his name), who helped me come up with the tomb’s contents. I included some nods to his own life (the Lego piece and Minecraft face, for example), but Synroot himself is very much created from our combined imaginations.

I constructed maquettes using clay, cardboard, wire, and objects from my studio, then synthesized them for reference. The 4 chambers are loosely based on a group of tombs at The Valley of the Kings in Cyprus. I did several sketches and studies before executing the final painting in oil on a full-sized door.

Tyler Vance grew up in the Salt Lake Valley and was raised on a rich diet of dinosaur fossils, Dungeons & Dragons, science fiction, classical music and heavy metal. These influences helped forge his imagination and they continue to inform his work to this day through mystery, memory, the primeval, and the imaginary. Tyler received his BFA from the University of Utah and his MFA from Utah State University. He currently resides in central Massachusetts and creates from his home studio. He teaches drawing and painting at Assumption University in Worcester. Visit him online at tylervanceart.com or @trvart.