Total Hopeless and Utter Despair. The turbulent disturbed twirling background of some of Vincent van Gogh's paintings has been separated into its two components in this painting; the dark external threatening blue and the central inner spiralling black abyss. The dark background blue has been applied over and over before the paint has had a chance to dry resulting in a patchy totally inconsistent and unsure frame of reference. The external torture!
The heart represents the central emotional being, the inner self that is separated from the external by the outer line that encloses it and therby defines it. It attempts to stand firm on inconsistent meanings, actions and values. The boundary is a semi permeable membrane similar to the one that lies between the egg shell and the albumen and indeed even our own skin. Passage is permitted for what is necessary and a barrier shown to what is not. Unfortunately membranes cannot always clearly determine what is hazardous and what is not. They can also be overpowered and breached if a large enough force is applied.
Internal sensitivity and the sturdiness and permeability of membranes can vary greatly from individual to individual. If overwhelmed the robust pounding central emotion can be transfixed, in this case by a rusty old nail, held firm while an internal spiralling destruction of the inner self begins. Constantly feeding on itself each life supporting chunk in turn like "self esteem" are torn away, disposed of in the maelstron's abyss. Eventually that which stands between existence and the abyss disappears.