Bondmate Souls

Fan Art
Title:	Bondmate Souls
Artist:	Shelley Butler
Date(s):	2006
First Published:
Medium:
Genre/Style:
Fandom:	Star Trek: TOS
External Links:
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Bondmate Souls is an illo by Shelley Butler.

It is a collage that portrays Spock and Kirk.

A color version of this illo was later sold at the 2008 Shore Leave.

It has been referred to as "Composition 1" by the artist at least once, but "Bondmate Souls" is the title in the zine it was originally printed in.

Fan Comments

Wow! What a picture! I can totally understand why Linda chose it for the cover, as this is a prime example of Shelley working with all the skills and sense of composition she’s developed over the years.

[much snipped]

But my point is that all of this is pretty darn complex and must have involved considerable thought before it was executed. And I’m not even talking about Spock’s hair or Kirk’s lips, but other things that I think we art consumers don’t even tend to think about.

[snipped]

Spock is smiling in the central picture (he’s got Kirk in his arms, why not?), but he looks considerably more severe in the smaller portrait to the upper left, with a touch of thought, maybe, in his eyes. Younger? Yes, I think the side pictures are younger versions of these two men, who have no clue that their initial meeting will lead to a wondrous union of souls and bodies. Younger Spock seems a bit resistant, stiff and stern, while younger Kirk is more open, softer, but still with no idea what Spock will eventually mean to him: just about everything by Star Trek III, right? And depending on your interpretations and the story you’re reading at the moment, much earlier than that, possibly. I love this about many of Shelley’s pictures! That you can look and really see so much! There’s a lot going on here, and nothing she chooses to add is random. It all adds meaning to a greater composition and a greater meaning. Wonderfully done! Great job, Shelley!"