Exploration - Drawing

Graphite and Charcoal on Paper
8 x 6 inches (unframed)
Has white border around edge

In this drawing, we are submerged in the ocean's depths and see a figure swimming above us. Various sea creatures surround the figure. Is she aware the creatures are there? Is she swimming among them or away from them?

Self-exploration involves examining and analyzing one's own unrealized spiritual or intellectual capacities. We look at our thoughts, feelings, behaviors and ask - why?

Self-exploration can be intimidating - we might not like what we discover about ourselves. Water has a history of representing feelings and emotions. Large bodies of water represent the subconscious and the unknown. Whether we choose to venture in and explore the depths within ourselves, these bioluminescent creatures are always living, waiting to be discovered inside ourselves. Do we see them as threats, or do they inspire awe from us, and are we willing to live with them. Self-exploration shows that there is always light to be found in darkness; we have to have the courage to take the plunge.

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General Statement about my Self Care Project

My work focuses on images taken from my memories, dreams, and experiences of female intimacy. My images re-invent themes that have interested me all of my life: reality and illusion, voyeuristic impulses, our relationship with our environment, and existential dichotomies.

Dealing with a persistent virus has instigated a new direction in my work, with the central theme being Self Care. A single woman lives in isolation in each of my drawings and paintings. She inhabits wild environments and has developed a symbiotic relationship with the landscape. The female figures embody the wild woman archetype and reflect the landscape around them: arms open up like flowers, legs mirror the bends of the river, bodies twists like tree trunks. The repetition of natural elements, like leaves or waves, evokes a sense of abundant beauty and simultaneously remains on the verge of overflowing and consuming the figures.

When I create my images, I rely on nature's beauty, poetics, and sensuality as it allows me to counteract the uneasy feelings I experience concerning my existential questions. There is always a moment of tension in my images, which fluctuates between pleasure and pain, power and vulnerability, life and death. The woman in my drawings embraces these dichotomies, the possible danger, the fear, the futility. She is aware that she is a part of the seasons of life; birth, change, decay, regeneration. The female figures in these works inspire how I would like to live my life. Stripped off material possessions, social relationships, and facial recognition, these women show us the value of being human and remind us what we can learn from nature; its resilience, adaptability, and ultimately, its celebration of life.

Interview with the Dig Boston about my Self Care project
https://digboston.com/self-care-and-the-wild-woman-archetype/