Even if therein lurks danger…

 

It’s true that most danger rears its head when we feel most at ease, in the comfort of surroundings we’ve grown accustomed to. Even those most familiar and trustworthy people and circumstances can suddenly turn into sharp weapons against us, though they may appear as familiar as your own hands. Things like that often-used lock falling into disrepair, your faithful old computer, the dependence on cigarettes and alcohol, become part of your life and just sometimes betray you, amongst these things lies that sharp edge.

 

This collection of works is called The Sleeping Forest, and deals exactly with this issue: the feeling of ease and the potential impact of the dangers that surround us in everyday life.

 

The main theme of this collection is the forest itself, depicting animals sound asleep perched in the forest’s branches or lying in the grass, serene, peaceful. However on closer inspection, you see the poisonous caterpillar, the venomous red spider and piranhas with razor-sharp teeth all itching for their turn: the imminent danger, ready at a moment’s notice to catch you off guard. This is a lesson I have learnt from experience.

 

For this series of works I have tried a different medium, making the change from paper to canvas, a further distinction being the strong use of colour. In the fine brushstrokes you find a gentleness and humour to warm your heart as well as a piercing reality. A fable told, at once equally distant and yet stood right next to you.

 

Like most young artists born in the 80s, my transition from study to the professional art world hasn’t been hindered. Times are different. Overcoming external hardships with an already strong, resolute heart is much easier than the development of the young artist’s inner world. The best option being tenderness and sensitivity, even if therein lurks danger.