Original artwork description:

The contemporary performance-driven society, which enforces a culture of growth, places unbearable demands on the individual. These demands lead to inner conflicts, anxiety, and an exhaustion of being. The constant need to stay alert and in motion reflects a deeply rooted fear of missing out.
A hyena, captured through dynamic expressive drawings of layered lines and spots, embodies raw emotionality and the untamed nature of human existence. I am drawn to the moments where the civilized facade cracks, giving way to primal instinct. Do we still know how to be free?
I explore the chaos of my own identity and reflect on the collective need for self-definition. Just as humans reveal their animalistic side in extreme situations, the hyena becomes a dynamic mirror of our instincts, fears, and fundamental drive for survival.
Its grotesque appearance, bodily asymmetry, and visual markers—fur, spots, stripes—form a palette of symbols and layered meanings. Whether directly present in the painting or represented through its characteristic features, the animal stands as an ambivalent figure, a record of the unconscious at the threshold of awareness. This visual play with fur textures, body shapes, expressions, and layering parallels the fluidity of both inner and outer worlds, the opposing forces at play, and the intersections of various realms.
The laughter-like sound that hyenas produce when they feel threatened serves as a metaphor for "social laughter," often used to mask nervousness and discomfort. Echoes of laughter in the landscape evoke mixed feelings of uncertainty. What is happening, and where? Chaos becomes an invitation into the irrational. When we stop controlling, we can begin to trust the process of existence itself. Everything emerges when we stop paying attention for just a moment.

Materials used:

acrylic, oil pastel and pencil on paper

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