In his research, art historian Hans-Martin F. Flaatten has related The Scream to what he designates as a literary hell-howl, a cosmic scream specifically related to Wilhelm Krag’s poem Night. Poems in Prose, 1892 (Nat. Digte i Prosa, 1892), whose main character sees a vision of the godforsaken world that lies behind him, where fear fills creation and all life.5 Perhaps it is this feeling of being part of a suffering universe that Munch expressed when he wrote that he “felt an immense endless scream going through nature.” A similar perspective in the context of con- temporary challenges, was presented by art collector and investor Petter Olsen when, in his speech during the sale of Edvard Munch’s The Scream at Sotheby ́s in 2012, he highlighted how the motif reflects the seriousness of climate change, and the impact increased environmental emissions have on life on Earth.

In the above interpretation, an ecological and dystopian dimension has been ad- ded to the receptive history of The Scream, which is interesting to correlate with Megall’s roaring panthers. Despite the fact that the anthropocentric may seem re- mote from the sanctuary of awakened desires, the carnal screams are a response to the rational materialist ideology of profit and growth that has devastated the earth’s biodiversity and resulted in the panther’s placement on the list of endan- gered species. The most urgent example of this are the nine subspecies of tigers, of which four, including the Balinese and Caspian tiger are already extinct, while the other five have become a minority. When Krag and Munch describe how natu- re suffers through a cosmic scream of destruction, both have considered Friedrich Nietzsche’s thesis on the death of God, and how this secularization included a renewed confidence in that the divine exists in the sublime forces of nature.

In Sexual Personae, Camille Paglia describes how the Diony- sian and Apollonian construct a series of dichotomies, where the Dionysian is associated with connected nature, women and sexuality, while the Apollonian with the progress of civi- lization, the structured and scheduled. The Dionysian char- ges and awakens nature with its energy. The Dionysian prin- ciple is the pagan, instinctive and chaotic forces of nature fighting against formation, hierarchical structuring and civili- zation. Examining Megall’s universe where instincts reign, it is interesting to highlight Paglia’s consideration of art history as a reorganization of human basic living conditions. Facing the panther’s unrestrained expression, Western civilization reflects on the myth that nature can be mastered, our minds tamed, and the body controlled.

Another remarkable aspect is the difficulty Western civilization faces when ratio- nality collapses, and the chaotic Dionysian forces manifest themselves.9 In Me- gall’s work, the Dionysian represents the dangerous natural state when an enclo- sure full of roaring argus-eyed panthers monitors the viewer. In The Panthers in my Blossoming Garden #5, a fiery red panther sneaks out from a scene of roaring heads with bright yellow eyes outlined in red. The roaring echo form an orna- mental background surrounding the protagonist, illuminated by an infrared light flashing out from the dark jungle. Considering that infrared radiation is being used for hunting at night, the target finds himself in the same position as the hunter, guarded by the staring eyes of Argus. The term originates from Pantoptes (Argus the “all-seeing”), a huge, observant, one-hundred-eyed monster, which, accor- ding to Greek mythology, derives from the leopard’s spots.

In ancient Egypt, the leopard was associated with the god Seth, and the burial rituals performed by priests wearing leopard skins. The motif manifests the fact that humans have a particular kind of cultural history related to the animal king- dom, and Megall’s main inquiry relates to how this relation should develop into the 21st Century. How does nature reflect upon us when we are responsible for the reduction of biodiversity on Earth? And how should we manage the archives of centuries of shamanism, mythology, religions, fairy tales, legends and everyday practice, in which the animal is involved? Above all, Megall’s imagery raises the question of how this loss changes our human consciousness and the position related to the fascinating cycle of biodiversity that we ourselves are part of. The eternal return of the graceful predator seems to guard the Dionysian aspect, the primordial power in nature and sexual transcendence.

In a political context, the panther can also be seen as a symbol of resistance, associated with the American Black Panther Party, who fou- ght for black civil rights in the 1960s. The Party developed self-defense programs that advocated the use of violence and weapons. The question remains open as to whether or not self-defense can be linked to a political undercurrent in Megall’s visual universe, and points out the diversity of possible interpretations of his work.

Ornamentation has a prominent position in The Panthers in my Blossoming Garden, which can be related to directions in art history revitalizing decorative handcrafts, mainly associated with women. In The Sense of Order A Study in the Psycho- logy of Decorative Art (1978), Ernst Gombrich expounds on the universality of ornamentation in human cultural history. He explains how repetition and symmetry reflect the need to mirror the underlying order of nature and the universe.
The human urge to express ourselves through symmetry and repetition can also be explained in terms of the body and human anatomy, indicating an inborn psychological tendency to create patterns.10 Megall makes use of textile and folk art traditions, well aware of their universal and archaic qualities. The works evoke art historical movements specifically concentrated around the rich traditions of folk art, such as the Patterns and Decoration movement. In the 1960s and 70s, the P&D movement developed a visual language giving renewed importance to the ornamental and decorative. The disintegration of the rigid boundaries between abstract art and folk art during Modernism also played a central part in this development. The movement used serial representations, and combined fabric, cloth and patterns with the monochrome surface of painting. They positioned themselves far beyond Western culture, focusing on Islamic ornamentation, architecture and Mexican textile traditions.11 Megall ́s works can be related to this postmodern tradition, deeply rooted in the culture and history of Armenia, manifested in folk art ornamentation and religious iconography, reflecting a suggestive decorative beauty.

Le Corbusier and Amedee Ozentant are one example, who in 1918 wrote: “There is a hierarchy in the arts: decorative art at the bottom, and the human form at the top. Because we are men”.12 During Postmodernism these marginalized areas were reclaimed through the use of art and cultural adaptations. The mythological narrative became particularly prominent under the Italian Transavantguardia movement, placing a dialectic up against modern society and considering the historical roots of civilization as an integral part of human identity and the spiri- tual state. In The Panthers in my Blossoming Garden, this perspective is pulled towards nature, unfolding an indicative vision of man’s deep historical and emotional attachment to the animal and plant kingdom, the feeling of home in the exotic and the longing for a lost paradise that reflects a hope for reconciliation and transformation. Although it is impossible to reverse the damage done to biodiversity, it is not too late to lose yourself in The Panthers in my Blossoming Garden, where the sensuous unfolds in a seamless transition between nature and culture.