PROVERB COLLECTION
CULTURAL SAYINGS AND IDIOMS
The series of paintings within my proverb collection work as playful visual counterparts of well known sayings and idioms from different cultures familiar and unfamiliar. In every translation from the written to the visual something is lost, but something else is gained. It is this ambiguity that introduces the possibility of multiple interpretations. Nevertheless the relationship between image and language is symbiotic, as the recognition, and ultimately meaning of the work relies upon the ubiquitousness of the saying.
These proverbs carry moral teachings that are subtly passed on to the viewer through exaggerated representational elements of common everyday struggles. Because these narratives contain such key aspects of the human experience, they have held the world’s attention, and stayed relevant throughout the years.
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Don’t Drown Yourself In A Glass Of Water
Proverb Collection
2020
Oil on Canvas
40.5cm x 30.5cm
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Don't Drown Yourself in a Glass of Water is the first work of the proverb collection, in this case the approach to the text is not as literal and playful as the subsequent ones. The position of the head as well as its detachment from the body hints at a sense of lassitude as well as a clear disconnection from reality. Moreover the distortion of the eyes caused by the glass serve to express how our perception of a difficult situation is morphed and often exaggerated by our mind, thus altering the way we may view or even experience our reality as we drown in our worries and trivialities.
Don’t Drown Yourself In A Glass Of Water
Proverb Collection
2023
Oil on Canvas
40.5cm x 30.5cm
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To Have Your Fingers In Too Many Pies
Proverb Collection
2020
Oil on Canvas
40.5cm x 30.5cm
Por La Boca Muere El Pez
Proverb Collection
2020
Oil on Canvas
40.5cm x 30.5cm
Sold
Por La Boca Muere El Pez
Proverb Collection
2023
Oil on Canvas
40.5cm x 30.5cm
Sold
There Is No Use In Crying Over Spilled Milk
Proverb Collection
2020
Oil on Recycled Panel
40.5cm x 30.5cm
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I'd Loose My Head If It Wasn't Attached...
Proverb Collection
2021
Oil on Recycled Cement
100cm x 60cm
This work is my last response to the proverb collection. While being directly inspired by the widely known saying "you'd loose your head if it wasn't attached to your body/neck", the saying goes beyond the limits of the typical motherly cautionary warning. The proverb touches upon various aspects of the disassociation of the body and mind, the subconscious vs the conscious. "Loosing one's head" can be regarded as equivalent to loosing one's mind, or sanity- therefore the body can stand for the solid, rational entity that keeps the wondering mind, literally and metaphorically grounded. However neither the body or the mind, can survive without the other. Harmony is only achieved through a healthy symbiotic relationship between the two.
The self portrait expands on this division between the body and the mind by making use of complementary colours- as the hands are soaked in a bold electric red, the face is overpowered with an almost sickly, stale hue green. This not only serves to enhance the contrasting ideas, but to reiterate the ongoing theme of metaphorical decapitation (present throughout most of my body of work) while using visual imagery to express the graphic proverb.
Pins and Needles
Proverb Collection
2025
Oil and Coloured Pencils on Canvas
24cm x 18cm