I understand mythology as a metaphor for human existence. The most important thing that myths teach us is to go beyond what we perceive as limits.
Life is an adventure with a quest for each of us to discover and fulfil. Enduring some trials and ordeals along the way is part of this adventure, and the quest is to find our true self and embrace it.
Joseph Campbell, American professor of literature and best-known for his book “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” once said that the privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.
As in the Hero’s Journey, after being tested and acquiring a hidden strength, there is a return to tell the story back to the community. The importance of Storytelling is learning something and sharing it, with the purpose of inviting others to welcome their own stories. In our own journey we learn to love and accept ourselves.
I recognize that we all have the ability to transcend the most difficult challenges along the way. I believe that we each have a phoenix within us that invites us to rise again and again from the ashes of our challenges.
The Truth Wakes Me Up is a reflection of my own personal adventure and coming to terms with who I am, and the choices I made along the way with the tools I had in each moment. I placed myself in a broad wide-open landscape using a monochromatic colour palette working with light and dark values. Through textural materials depicting the difficulties encountered in my journey, I’m painting my quest to reach my core and to finally come to terms with myself.
Recently I came across these meaningful words of American conceptual artist Barbara Bloom:
“When the Japanese mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold. They believe that when something’s suffered damage and has a history it becomes more beautiful.”
The Truth Wakes Me Up (photo of the artwork)
Acrylic & Mixed Media on Canvas
36”x48” INQUIRE