2023, Utrecht, Netherlands
When you reach a low point in your life that makes you really doubt everything around you—concepts, emotions—it makes you doubt everything that you once felt represented you and makes you doubt who you are. That's why I believe this painting I made speaks to the idea of being born again to rediscover our inner selves. During this period when I felt lost, with nothing to start from, I was recreating my emotions from scratch. That's why you see emotions depicted at 20%, 50%, and then 100% at the top right, symbolizing the creation of emotions anew. Throughout this journey of ups and downs, there are two faces depicted, one happy and one sad, representing the confusion and the constant battle between these emotions each day. The highway with cars represents our lives, with each car taking different paths, signifying that there's no one correct route for everyone to follow. I believe that each of us has a unique perception and experience of life, and there's no universal highway we all must follow.
To conclude this painting, I suggest that rediscovering our inner selves is achieved by finding our most natural and pure versions. In the second version of the painting, I challenged people to paint whatever came naturally to them, tapping into their inner nature. I believe that if we continue to search for that feeling within ourselves, we'll ultimately discover who we are.
