Venus in You explores softness, movement and the creative energy held within us.
Inspired by the mythological figure of Venus and the idea of feminine energy as a force of creativity, love and renewal, the series considers the possibility of finding softness within what feels hard, and flow within what feels fixed.
Concrete is mixed into the paintings, creating a deliberately hard, weighty material surface. Against this, I introduced soft washes of gesso, fluid blue marks and simplified dancing figures. The blue represents water and flow, while the movement of the figures became a way of thinking about transforming difficult or heavy emotions into something lighter.
The works draw on the visual language of Henri Matisse, particularly his simplified forms and expressive use of line, while the imagery of Venus became a way of exploring the creative energy that exists within everyone.
At the heart of the series is an idea of coming together: acknowledging what is difficult while making space for joy, love and creativity. The paintings ask whether life might become simpler when we allow these different parts of ourselves to exist together — finding softness without denying what is hard, and finding flow without needing to control it.
