My exhibition displays the enigmatic forms of duality presented within the human mind through a fantastical approach. Some artworks pertain to a general audience, but others reflect my individual dualities. The exhibition process enabled me to gain a deeper awareness of myself. My hope is that the audience will understand that our dualities make humanity more complex.

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The physical presentation initially connects with the audience, then gradually moves onto personal pieces that show my internal dualities. One may notice that there is decreasing white space in the artworks. This is to symbolize that the further we choose to acquire self-truth, the more our metaphysical emptiness becomes welded with self-love. Through the process of understanding ourselves, we learn to come to terms with our dualities and faults because they make us human. 

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My exhibition starts with two artworks placed side-by-side. Unnamed and Bamboozle are placed this way because both paintings are vertical, feature a single subject of a woman, but are facing opposite directions. In Unnamed on the left, the woman has her back faced towards the viewer while the woman in Bamboozle is staring directly at them. Unnamed features a woman of royalty, longingly gazing outside a large lattice window. She is royal due to her old-fashioned clothing, the intricate bed and curtains, and most obviously, the stacks of money in the bottom-right corner. The significance of the woman’s position represents the way she is turning back on her privileged, materialistic life. There is a duality between materialism and the desire to achieve more from life. The lattice window appears mostly white; one can interpret this as the woman’s desires being futile, or the endless possibilities that lay waiting for her outside the entrapping window. On the other hand, the woman in Bamboozle is looking directly at the viewer from the bottom-right corner of the painting. The painting is a satirical commentary of the expectation of the female body. The duality here is illustrated with the chronological sequence of female body parts that are typically seen as alluring. The emphasis of her stare is most important because, compared to Unnamed, the surrounding eyes are mocking the viewer and forcibly confronting the duality of our expectations of women and their beauty.

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Underneath the two vertical paintings is my dreamscape, Amoraya’s Depth in Tea. This piece symbolizes a contrast in serenity and fear. The flowy movement of the hair is as apparent as the elements of fear presented such as the oozing holes in the large head. This artwork is inspired by Hieronymus Bosch’s Christ In Limbo.

 

The next set of works are two out of the three paintings in my series. This is where the exhibition dives into my psyche. The first is a self-portrait named The Swine’s Entrapment. It is placed to the left of the second installment, State of End, to follow the narrative’s chronological order. The black vines originating from the head show the forced unification of the monster and its host. These vines and gangly hands hold the severed head in place so that it cannot escape its fate. The monster remains parasitic inside of the host, clarified by the blended pastel background with red, bloodstained areas. State of End takes place in limbo, where the slumped female figure feels unworthy of reaching heaven. This painting represents self-punishment and fate. This is emphasized by the similarity between the wound in the figure’s stomach and the large circular floating form. The large circle of lines represents sins and faults that are to be forgiven, but the subject believes she is still guilty and undeserving of a happier end. This decision is enforced by fate due to the repeated symbol of the entrapping dark hands.

 

The final and most significant piece is at the bottom of the exhibition, The Unfolding of Golden Dreams. It explores the duality between reality and comfort in imagination. The beautiful, fabricated painted world underneath the cellophane layer is illustrative of our desires to escape our bitter reality. The cellophane layer acts as a barrier between the two worlds. The handmade fabric flower is a reminder of the importance of remaining linked to reality because of the wonderful possibilities that can still be offered in life, no matter how harsh it may be. I wanted this one to be the last painting the viewer sees because it encompasses the idea of my exhibition: our humanity can be flawed and contradictory but can be embraced with love as long as the individual is willing to do so.