A representative portraiture of relationships. Roses symbolize individuals: getting to know them peels back their layers, in which they might seem to become “less beautiful” and the inner layers increasingly difficult to pluck off. The vines are a reiterated motif to symbolize the connections that relationships form; messy, entangled and unpredictable. They have the potential to become rusted and brittle when neglected. The chains symbolize the hardships in our relationships, oftentimes external factors out of our control: life, stress, depression, and responsibilities. These are all the worldly burdens that our vines must bear or succumb to.
This piece began with salvaging discarded materials to create an abstract sculpture which would be translated into a two dimensional interpretation. The unconventional materials enabled and expanded my mode of creation beyond what was familiar or imagined into the unexpected. The gouache was used straight from the tube and layered upon the vellum, giving texture on one surface and smooth, blended colors on the other. The transparency of the canvas interacted with the gouache to give the colors vibrancy and unexpected shifts in the colors.
