Human forms and gem-like particles ebb and swim in a cloud of color and scribbles. Matthew Ritchie pours paint into the scratched surface and draws flowcharts with a black marker.

Ritchie is interested in the ways that information is represented through mapping, symbolism, and other kinds of shorthand. His canvas is a patchwork of stories drawn from science and myth. Shemjaza comes from a parable about seven dethroned angels, each of whom the artist associates with an attribute and part of the human mind. In Ritchie's system, Shemjaza represents the concept of repentance and the brain's limbic system.