UNDERSTANDING SYMBOLIC NARRATIVES THROUGH ART: THE ROLE OF PAINTINGS IN SEVERANCE

With the widespread influence of visual culture through digital platforms, television series have evolved beyond mere entertainment into narrative structures where art, ideology, and cultural codes are actively reproduced. These series function as powerful tools for conveying messages that shape societal norms and values. This study aims to analyze the artworks featured in the series Severance through the symbolic language of visual narrative. The paintings used in the series are not merely decorative backgrounds; rather, they serve as compelling visual devices that convey themes such as corporate ideology, power relations, identity formation, and psychological transformation. Referencing a broad spectrum of art history—from Baroque to Romanticism, Neoclassicism to the allegorical imagery of Brueghel and Goya—these visual elements deepen the fictional universe of the series while offering viewers a space for critical engagement. Employing methods such as visual analysis, iconographic and iconological interpretation, this study explores the narrative function of the paintings, their connections to historical art movements, and their relationship to the inner worlds of the characters. In doing so, Severance is evaluated as both a dystopian critique of corporate life and a multi-layered narrative of cultural memory through the lens of visual arts.