The Life Cycle
This ongoing series, *Life Cycle*, is inspired by the psychological labyrinths in Haruki Murakami's novel Norwegian Wood (one of my favourite books). It investigates the disorienting yet beautiful phenomenon of inner metamorphosis—the experience of passing from one state of consciousness into another, only to find that every exit leads not to an end, but to a new beginning in a strangely familiar world.
It is a visual meditation on the non-linear journey of the self, where moments of chaos, order, collapse, and renewal are not endpoints, but continuous phases in a perpetual cycle. The works serve as maps for these intangible passages, inviting the viewer to contemplate their own psychological landscapes.
The specific resolutions of these themes—the interplay of light and structure, chaos and order—are discovered within the visual language of the paintings themselves. This series is an open inquiry, and these first works are an invitation to look inward and begin the exploration.
Second Cycle: Reorder.
acrylic on canvas.
30 x 30 cm.
This painting depicts the necessary but often tumultuous phase of structuring a nascent identity within the frameworks of society. This stage mirrors the transition into structured education, where the younger me learnt to navigate social orders, discipline, and imposed rules.
Visually, this quest for order is represented by a more stable, darkened palette. Within this structured field, dots and deliberate curves seek arrangement and direction, striving for a coherent composition. However, this imposed order is perpetually punctuated by strikes of neon—the persistent, rebellious flashes of the inner self. These vibrant interruptions symbolize the inborn excitement and raw individuality that refuse to be entirely subdued. They are the indelible, brilliant parts of the spirit fighting to escape the dim, creating a dynamic tension between the self we are taught to be and the self we are born to be.