Ring 2 was dedicated to the "Carnal"; those who betrayed "reason" and succumbed to their sexual appetites. In Dante's second ring, the carnal are cast into a storm/whirlwind/tempest where they have no control over themselves or their environment.

After thinking about it for a while, I felt that the punishment meted out in Dante's Recond Ring were too mild and abstract. I felt that if I stuck with this whirlwind of carnality, the end results wouldn't make sense as a painting. And so I decided to reinterpret some of Aligheri's ideas within this Second Ring.

I started by stringing up these "carnal" souls like marrionettes to strip them of their ability to control themselves or their environment. I then decided a perfect punishment would be to force to them to fuck each other, the tragedy being that they derive no pleasure from these sexual acts. This would explain their blank, passionless expressions.

Rabbits were chosen to represent "The Carnal" because popular culture has labeled them as being notorious fornicators. I also decided to paint some of these rabbits pink to suggest femininity. This is important because I was afraid if I kept all the rabbits white, the activities illustrated might accidentally suggest homosexual sex. Homosexuality isn't addressed until Dante's Seventh Ring.