Caged Print

'Caged' comes from a continuously developing 'Broken Beauty' series of oil paintings that explore the modern pop-culture's impacts of female mental health. 'Caged' is an interpretation of a young woman's existence in the realm of socially-imposed beauty and happiness standards. With its various layers, patterns and colors, it explores the complexity and depth of female nature - often shallowed to its superficiality. Contradicting images such as colorful hearts and flowers mixed with pastel skulls and faded words (SAD, BAD, OBEY, LISTEN, CAGED), fractured textures, and vandal-like lines bring up a slight, almost unnoticed yet unavoidable background disturbance to this seemingly joyful scene. The tiger represents a young, free spirit, beautiful yet savage, which, despite the superficial freedom and liberty as it may have, seems trapped, uneasy, and forced into an unnatural environment. The vibration of colors, as well as its forms, remind us of the restlessness of today's world pace, its demands as well as the human mind's rhythm and diversification. As young women strive for acceptance in today's polarizing world of ultra-sexy vs. ultra-feminist, their efforts to fit-in often bear a long-term mental burden. 'Caged' explores this nuanced turmoil and reminds the viewer to look within rather than quickly judge what seems to be obvious.