The Space Between Painting

This painting has many different meanings, and this is why it can be very tricky interpreting meaning out of the proper context. When creating the concept for this work, it was from the lens of my childhood and not having a father; yet he still had an impact on our lives, even in his absence. From my mother being angry or sad, to the stigma it presented in the early 1970s. In this context, the meaning is profoundly sad, and evokes a sense of entrapment by another, without the will, or ability to detach from a toxic situation. Once the painting started forming and I added my children with boxes over their heads (made to view a total solar eclipse through a pinhole in aluminium foil), the context of the painting shifted for me to the beauty of being an engaged and present parent. Teaching them things and being involved so I don't have to shield or protect them forever. They will always be in my orbit because of my love, but they will be able to create their own beautiful world.