The Emotional Landscape

This painting delves into the complex emotional terrain of beauty—how it empowers, confines, and reflects both who we are and how we’ve been seen. The figure’s unapologetic nudity and exaggerated curves embody both strength and vulnerability. There’s tension in every stroke: between softness and sharpness, celebration and critique. It asks the unsettling question we all face when looking in the mirror: Is this how I truly see myself, or how I’ve been taught to?

Personal Connection

I kept returning to one quiet question: How much of what I believe about beauty and worth is actually mine? The phrase “our beauty is our currency” echoed—not just as a cultural observation, but as a lived reality. Do I love myself, or do I love the version of me that aligns with what others find desirable? Do I feel empowered in my body because I’ve accepted it—or because it fits current trends? Would I still feel that same self-love if I gained weight, aged, or no longer reflected what’s valued in the moment?

This is where I thought about the quote, “I am a mosaic of everyone I’ve ever loved—even for a moment.” Not in a romantic sense, but in a reflective one. How much of what I consider beautiful has been shaped by others’ preferences—by admiration, media, validation, or comparison? This painting holds space for that discomfort. It doesn’t resolve the tension, but it acknowledges it, and begins the quiet work of separating the self from the story we’ve been sold.

Story of creation

The figure began not as a plan, but as a question. I leaned into exaggeration and golden tones—symbols of radiance and aspiration, but also of artifice. The contrast between smooth and raw surfaces became a language of its own, speaking to the divide between how we present ourselves and what we carry beneath. Over time, the figure transformed into a vessel—holding memory, influence, and gaze. What began as a study of beauty evolved into something more layered: a quiet act of reclamation.

Display recommendations

Size: 39.5” x 32”
Medium: Acrylic paint on canvas

To live with this piece is to be constantly reminded of the strength required to simply exist as a woman. Displayed in a space where it can be seen daily, it encourages the viewer to take up space, assert their presence, and recognise the inherent worth in simply being. It serves as a quiet yet powerful companion, urging reflection and connection with one’s own journey of self-discovery.