Meaning
Hi all,
Most of the paintings I create have no particular meaning, they are just images I connect with and want to recreate in my own style. But sometimes they develop a meaning over time, and today I will talk about how this happened to the painting I made in an electrical box at de Wittenkade, in Amsterdam.
When I first created this design in procreate, it had no meaning at all! It was just a mix of images that went well with each other, and would cover the 5 surfaces of the electrical box. However, when I was asked to give a description to the design, a whole story blurted out of my brain. Now, it feels like it was meant to have this meaning all along.
Here it is. The design depicts the contact between people and nature, and the biases that influence the way we perceive ourselves and the world around us. The people are depicted by the four hands coming out of the ground like flowers, and the nature is depicted by the falling branches with leaves from the top. It explores the contrast between:
1) unbiased perception through the naked eye (sides of the box),
2) perception through an overly positive bias, represented by a beauty mirror (street side of the box),
3) perception through an overly negative bias, represented by the reflection of a broken mirror (water side of the street).
Seems a bit complex, but it is a topic that means a lot to me. Nature gives me energy, yet life is full of barriers and influences that make it hard to be fully present and truly appreciate its beauty—and how lucky we are to be surrounded by it.
You can see a bit more of the box in this reel. Or come by de Wittenkade 75 to see “my” box, and walk through the street (on both sides of the canal) to see another 6 beautiful boxes, painted by other artists. Great Sunday stroll on a beautiful day.
I am so happy to have a painting out on the street for all the see, and walk past it regularly. I’ve shared how I interpret it (in my overly thinker/analytical kind of way), but I would love to hear if you have a totally diferent interpretation. While I was painting it, I had really fun conversations with people walking by and someone told me the hands looked like zombies coming out of the ground. Loved it!
Until next time,
Rita
