Thoughts on the artwork "Resistance"

"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." Marcus Aurelius

My kids arrived as thunderbolts during the night of my life: they brought light, noise, fear, strength and joy. They exposed my vulnerability before the forces of nature, and I had no choice but embrace it with resilience. Every single day is so intense, I feel so alive, it's a struggle, it's difficult, it's amazing, sometimes I feel my entire being will be disintegrated, and the following minute we witness a rebirth. I decided to call this emotional amalgam love.

The quote I chose from Marcus Aurelius helped me understand (or at least accept) that our personal struggles and victories will never be fully understood by other people. And it is ok! Life is not about being accepted, or loved, or understood by others. Life is about carving an authentic path in this dense forest of existence, feeling the pain from the thorns blocking the way, and rejoicing with the freshness of the air after a rainy day.

The artwork "Resistance" was a reaction to this magnificent and chaotic period of my life. The background with Marcus Aurelius' sentence is a reminder that everything is an illusion, so there is no need to despair, but it is paramount to observe reality from different angles to better comprehend and be a part of it.

Despair would paralyze our actions, and the thorns of time would grow around us like a trap or a cage. If we wait too long, we will be hostage of our own ineptitude. Life is in constant movement, so we must tune our rhythm and follow Nature.

 The rose... ahhh the precious rose. Sometimes we hold on to things that are already gone: old ideas, concepts, people, situations, relationships, ways of life... you name it! We are so afraid of venturing into the unknown that we hold so tight to the dead rose, with all the petals already on the floor, that we are incapable of noticing the thorns surrounding us. Too much resistance can create an imprisoned life.

The dress with stripes makes a reference to the concentration camps during WWII and the thorns itself can be understood as the barbed-wire fences surrounding the camps.

Although this artwork has a function in my personal psychological realm, every symbol in it is open for countless interpretation based on the viewer's experiences. I invite you to appreciate it and connect with the story inside you that is waiting to be resignified.

You can buy a print of Resistance here.