The Journey (2025)

The piece began with a simple, almost bitter truth quoted by Taylor Swift: "everyone is jealous of what you have, but no one is jealous of what you had to endure to get there". I was interested in the unseen cost -- the parts of the journey that are hidden, dismissed, or misunderstood. The loans, the effort, the quiet persistence behind something that, on the surface, appears effortless or desirable. But as the painting unfolded, the meaning shifted. The work stopped being about external perception and became something far more internal. The two hands no longer represented what other c versus what is hidden. Instead, they became two versions of the same self -- the human self marked by fear, chaos, and lived experience, and the higher self that exists Beyond it, study, luminous, and aligned. The wounded hand carries evidence of survival: cuts, strain, and the weight of cycles that have been repeated for too long. The opposing hand, radiant and calm, is not separate -- it is what has always been waiting on the other side of that loop. The moment their fingertips meet is not a reward, but a recognition. It is the instant someone steps out of fear and into clarity, choosing a path that is no longer dictated by survival, but by alignment with their highest good. The light does not erase the wounds. And meets them. This piece is about that threshold -- the quiet, almost imperceptible moment where everything changes. Not because the past disappears, but because it is finally understood, integrated, and released.