Identities
A Series on Identity
“Fish.”
As a child, I dreamed of becoming a fisherman.
My uncle was one, and I admired him deeply. My mother once gave me a fishing rod, the perfect gift, exactly what I had wished for.
I imagined the thrill of catching fish on my own.
I tried endlessly, casting my line over and over. But after months of effort, I caught only one fish.
This painting is a memory of that dream, a dream that never fully came true, but still lives within me.
“Birth”
A Journey Into Life and Identity Are we born with an identity, or do we shape it over time?
Or maybe both?
This painting, “Birth”, is a deeply personal reflection on the story of my own beginning, a moment of struggle, resilience, and survival.
My mother told me I was stuck during birth, and forceps had to be used to pull me into this world.
For a while, my head was shaped like an egg, and my mother worried it would stay that way.
But it didn’t. I made it through, and that first battle left its mark, not just on my body but perhaps on my character as well. In Birth,
I tried to capture that raw energy, the chaos, the tension, and the ultimate triumph of life pushing through.
The darker strokes symbolize struggle and fear, while the bursts of yellow and green reflect survival, hope, and the light of new beginnings.
If you look carefully, you might even recognise me.
It’s not just my story, though. It’s a story we all share.
Each of us has faced moments where life tests us, moments that shape who we are.
My daughters and I came together to paint a portrait of them as two sisters (and we used only or hands).
We titled the piece ‘Sisters’. About 15 years ago, we had similar painting sessions, and this experience felt like a nostalgic return to the innocence and joy of childhood.
“The Weight of Being Seen”
I created this painting after I went to buy a new suit. It was, overall, a really nice experience.
But something about it stayed with me – it inspired me to tell the truth about how we sometimes feel.
This figure stands alone, exposed, with no clothes to hide behind.
The hangers in the background remind us of the pressure to fit into society’s expectations – both literally and figuratively. It also holds a deeper feeling – how we sometimes don’t like our bodies, how we think they define us or determine our worth. But this painting is also a reminder: our bodies don’t define who we are.
Our identity is made of so much more: the way we love, the way we think, the way we live.
The bright colors celebrate the beauty and uniqueness of the human body, while the dark background hints at the quiet doubts or insecurities we all carry.
It’s more than a painting. It’s a reflection of those moments when we feel seen, truly seen, and wonder if we are enough. You are always enough.
“The Silent Power.”
Some (men) might not like it, but it reflects a reality we often overlook: the true dominance in every relationship is exercised by women.
Only matriarchal societies openly acknowledge this, while others try to deny it.
Perhaps this denial is one of the reasons women remain underprivileged in many parts of the world.
Could it be that men are simply striving to disprove women’s natural strength and influence?
Yet, no matter what we do, women ultimately bear the weight of families and, often, entire societies.
For all the children left behind by their parents:
While I trust that the parents may have had their reasons, no explanation could ever make sense to the child who was left to grapple with the pain of abandonment.
