This collection inhabits a space between representation and abstraction. By examining familiar subjects at extreme proximity, these works transform recognizable forms into landscapes of color, texture, and pattern. What was once immediately identifiable becomes ambiguous, inviting a different mode of perception.
We typically recognize an object through its overall shape—whether through a detailed photograph or the simplest outline. But what happens when that overview is removed? Can we identify an object through its color and texture alone? Through its details rather than its silhouette? By observing the specific instead of the general? Would we still be able to distinguish an apple from a pear.
This inquiry extends beyond the objects depicted and toward our understanding of ourselves. As human beings, we share common needs and experiences, yet each of us possesses a distinct inner world. Our ways of thinking, observing, categorizing, and dreaming are uniquely our own. While we may appear similar from a distance, closer examination reveals a rich diversity of perspectives, abilities, aspirations, and lived experiences.
In this sense, human identity can be understood as a texture built upon a shared foundation. If texture represents our experiences and competencies, then color becomes a metaphor for personality, imagination, and desire. Together, they create the subtle distinctions that make each individual unique.
It is this reflection on what constitutes identity—what makes something truly itself—that inspires this body of work. The parallels between the human condition and the wider natural world, encompassing animal, vegetal, and mineral forms, serve as catalysts for this exploration.
Executed primarily in soft pastel, these works draw upon the medium’s directness and material presence. Composed largely of pure pigment, soft pastel maintains a close relationship to the mineral origins of color, while its vibrant chromatic range and tactile qualities deepen the exploration of observation, materiality, and perception that lies at the heart of the collection.
The resulting artworks embody a series of dualities: the general and the specific, similar and distinct, the simplified and the detailed. Through these tensions, the collection invites viewers to reconsider how recognition is formed and to reflect on the delicate balance between what unites us and what sets us apart.