‘THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL’ - NINE INCH NAILSPAINTING WITH FIRE: IDEAS DEVELOPMENTTRACK 6: RUI

‘THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL’ - NINE INCH NAILS

PAINTING WITH FIRE: IDEAS DEVELOPMENT

TRACK 6: RUINER

Following the self-hatred and obsession of ‘Closer’, our protagonist finds themselves doubling down on God and he is now determined to destroy him. They have reached a boiling point and now that everything that gave them a sense of security and control has been taken, they turn to God, not to ask why, but to point the finger of blame and tear him from his throne.

I want the image for Ruiner to express the cacophony and rising anger of this track. The chords that ring out over the chorus always gave me the sense that the world was on fire, not unlike this scene from one of my favourite Cohen Bothers films.

I decided to use fire on a painting that I have had a few ugly run-ins with over the course of the last month. Using white spirits and a bit of spray paint over the stencil of the logo, I achieved some incredibly beautiful textures and colours as well as got some incredible pictures of the NIN logo on fire, not unlike Russell Mills own treatment of the logo for The Downward Spiral.