Artist Statement
In the palm of your hand
Literally interpreted, the phrase “in the palm of your hand” can feature anything that one deems precious to their heart. It could be their family, friends, their love for music, books and the list goes on.
Personally, things that I hold dear such as family and my love for reading have helped bring me out of a dark part in my life - that stage of emptiness. My family have always supported me in every aspect of my life. I surround myself with books because I always feel better just by reading them. Books open up my perspectives on things.
According to Dictionary.com, “in the palm of your hand” simply means, “having responsibility, which is to be answerable or accountable for something that is within one’s power, control or management.” However, Cambridge Dictionary states that “in the palm of your hand” means “under your complete control”. Thus, a deeper interpretation to the phrase would mean having power over my decisions.
Having this power, firstly, allows me to have the ability to do anything I set my mind to, without inference, as it is in my control. I am in control of my studies and it is within my control to help resolve bigger issues such as pollution and climate change. With this ensured power in my hands, I am certain that I can achieve my goals in life.
Pollution and climate change are pressing issues. These problems seem to get worse every year, but it does not mean that there are no solutions to the problems. We can actually resolve those issues because we started them in the first place. We can raise awareness to the whole world through campaigns and actions about the importance of saving nature - our oceans and forests. We can do this by volunteering to give out flyers and designing posters that feature the importance of our Earth and that we should look after it. We can start by not littering and helping to clean the different areas around our living spaces. This is the first small step towards cleaner living environment, free from land pollution. Earth is our only home and we should save it. It is ‘in the palm of our hands’ to do it.
Secondly, I am in control of my own actions and emotions. It is within my control to show generosity, empathy and compassion. It is through my actions that I can make someone’s day better. My helping hand can be a symbol of hope to those in need. My hand can help to mend friendships and save families.
The power that we have in our hands, however, when used wrongly can lead to negative consequences. This can be dangerous. Imagine using this power to command others to wipe out our forests and to dirty our oceans. Just for our own personal gains, we forget about the imbalance we create to Mother Earth. We forget about the multiple problems that follow such as air pollution and haze caused by forest fires. This will affect our lungs and health. What is worse is that it increases Earth’s temperature resulting in global warming. Thus, we should not just fold our arms and watch our forests die! We should not let ourselves die! We must do something to save everything that are precious to us! Our helping hand can be a symbol of protection to shield those that we love from danger and harm.
Development process
Source Drawings and Development
A series of preparatory drawings that allowed me to practice my techniques and allowed me to explore before executing the final artwork.
Artist-Inspired Works and Layout and Colour Schemes
A small list of others' artworks which I explained why I have admired them and had helped inspired me for the concept of my final layout scheme. A series of preparatory sketches of layouts and colour schemes before executing the final artwork.
Final Artwork
