The trajectory of tonal changes can imply direction of a timeline. In this case the shift to darkness is just that… a shift to rather than away from. It’s the cultured habituation of left to right scanning, but it could also be a current lack of optimism.
Note: return to using cut outs and stencils to build up a layered image using guash, charcoal, pastel, and graphite.
Zygote Blum 