Original artwork description:

The Peace Lily Playground series represents one of my earliest moments as a young child. It paints a turning point where the world was no longer so small and confined to my life at home. My perception of the world, which was not very safe, was broadened by encountering a little boy who is represented as the goldfish in the painting. Peace lily, for me, represents home, which also equates to where I find peace and calmness. I also relate the sense of purification with the plants.

All of the memories are somewhat blurry and almost dreamlike. Hence, the paintings show real elements in the world composed in a way of a surrealistic perception, such as the fish that playfully swim around a peace lily plant.

subconscious
’Subconscious’ is the third painting from the ‘Peace Lily Playground’ series and is a story of a girl with PTSD. As a sufferer of PTSD for 17-years, flash backs are uncontrollable and mixed complicated emotions can be intense, but over the decade I’ve learned to hide them very well. Trying to survive with it means always fighting with inner darkness. The darkest part of the painting, with the sharpest leaves, are covered by a sheer fish tail. It’s covered, but not completely. If you look closely you can see the darkness underneath. Then, rotated flowers represent the people that turned their backs on me. I attempt to block out the pain of my past, as if I’m wearing rose-coloured glasses, but, the truth can easily appear, as the gold fish tails are in movement and could show their faces at any moment. The goldfish are not in perfect proportion and lack elements of detail. This is to accentuate what my subconscious was seeing in my mind. Meanwhile, two red stitched crosses represent eyes of abuse.

Materials used:

Acrylic paint, Cotton thread

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