Identity

Finding my own identity is a lifelong journey. It is a journey into my soul to the edge of basic values. Who I am, what do I hope for, and what I'm going towards? We are timid and alone here. We meet others, get stronger, laugh, rejoice, and cry. We become whole only in connection with our environment and other people. Yet our deepest identity includes the knowledge of mortality. Then we are all alone with ourselves. Community and encounters are therefore our strength in this decadent-tinged depression of loneliness. They enrich our own identity, from which we can draw joy and energy to face that final loneliness. 

In my paintings, I often explore the manifestation of loneliness and encounters, which for me is melancholic fragile, and inquiring. Through them, I ask. Am I getting love and am I enough just the way I am? Solitude also has elements of power because it allows me to choose my own colors and shine as brightly as I want.

Me You We, 2022, oil and acrylic on board, 160 x 120 cm