As with the self-portrait, it took me a while to do something I was happy with. I wanted the shadow to capture something of me, and more precisely, something of me that was better captured in shadow than in a picture of me myself. I finally settled on the rolling of dice.

This is partly because of my interest in games and strategies. In choosing a course of action, we must do our best to get information about what seems likely to happen, and play our hand accordingly. We see the future only dimly, as though in shadow.

It is also partly because of my interest in randomness and statistics, finding knowledge from quantitative analysis. Once we see something (such as the roll of a die), we can only infer what might have happened to cast it that way, like looking at shadows cast on a wall.

But most of all, I like the shadowy aspect of action here. It reflects the fact that while I've caused the dice to roll, my action is no longer the focus of attention--the dice are. My hand has made the roll, but what we are now concerned with is how it will end up.

Alea iacta est.