Render Unto Caesar

Neal Ambrose-Smith’s monotype, Render Unto Caesar, from the artist’s “Naughty Bunny” series, features a cartoon-like, anthropomorphized rabbit adorned with a long robe and opera-length gloves. His skeletal face suggests he’s a spirit. In Ojibwe and Cree folklore, the rabbit is the all-powerful trickster, transformer, and culture hero known as Nanabozho (or Wesakaychak). As a trickster, he is conniving and can take many guises and do what he pleases. He is one of many characters elders use to teach children about morality and reason. Here, appearing dazed and ashamed, he displays remorse for his actions. Various truisms, blind embossed on the sheet, seem to float in the background.