Gallery

The snail covered his eyes well with wax

Finding their source of inspiration in other forms of creation (cinematography, respectively literature), the works "Nostalgia" and "The snail closed its eyes well with wax" were articulated around a theme of identity. Personal experiences and feelings are reflected in the characters depicted in the two works. Loneliness becomes a leitmotif for my creation, which I approach from multiple perspectives, exploring various instantiations of loneliness, associated with different ages and affective states. "The snail covered his eyes well with wax" refers to the text of the same name by Marin Sorescu:

"The snail closed his eyes well
With wax,
He put his head in his chest
And he stares
Within himself.

Above him
Is the shell
His perfect creation
That he abhores

Around the shell
Is the world,
The rest of the world,
Placed back and forth
According to certain laws
That he abhores
And in the center of this
Universal hatred
He finds himself
The snail,
That he abhores.”

basement

When you think you're at the end of your strength, an event will come your way, a problem that will squeeze out even more of the strength you thought you no longer had.

“To become a post horse”

The work is part of a series of works that continue from an ideational point of view my undergraduate thesis, "The sayings", which illustrates several sayings through which we can see the way of thinking of the Romanian society. "To become a post horse" translates to working non-stop. In addition to the fact that I find myself in a position where work takes up almost all of my schedule, leaving no room for personal aspects of life, I notice the whole society falling into this trap. We all become busier, we identify ourselves exclusively with the work we do, something we have no reason to be proud of, because it brings with it an imbalance in our mental health.

Nostalgia

Finding their source of inspiration in other forms of creation (cinematography, respectively literature), the works "Nostalgia" and "The snail closed its eyes well with wax" were articulated around a theme of identity. Personal experiences and feelings are reflected in the characters depicted in the two works. Loneliness becomes a leitmotif for my creation, which I approach from multiple perspectives, exploring various instantiations of loneliness, associated with different ages and affective states. "Nostalgia" follows the sequenced thread of introspection-sleep-dream-death and wants to stimulate the manifestation of empathy in the viewers and create an intimate space of personal reflection.

the burden

The work describes the moment when you think “should I tell them how I feel? No, because this person has their own difficulties. "Why bother them with my problems?". I experienced this feeling very often and I ended up in the situation where I exploded and had to think first about myself and what is best for me.

Steps to authenticity

Most of us are educated by our parents and society to behave "properly", to fit in, to be "normal". To not cry if we are men, to always be obedient and delicate in public if we are women. The fear is subtly transmitted to us that we will lose the love of our loved ones if we say what we really feel or if we impose our point of view.

The messages are numerous, but they boil down to one: Don't be yourself! Put on your mask, nobody wants to see who you really are!

Fortunately, there is art, and this time, it sends us a powerful message:
Break free from your masks and have the courage to step into authenticity!

A collection of beautiful anxieties

The present booklet is an attempt to accept and love myself. It's about a period when I became so alienated from myself, that I forgot that life is also about beauty. Drawing was the only method I found to stay here. I thought that if I gave shape to the inner voices, the bad ones would shrink and the good ones would grow. The poem and the illustrations have essentially the same idea: I wish to exist, now that it is so hard to convince myself that it is beautiful to be alive. I wish to be.

The work is a whole, to choose only one illustration from it would mean to lose its meaning.

Open the booklet

Embracing my inner child

This illustration was made for me, for the moments when I didn't know how to love myself and how to take care of myself. I drew it to remind myself that I am worthy of love and that when I can't find arms to receive me, mine will always be open for me. I wish from the bottom of my heart that we all manage to embrace the child within us.

Thought Vomit

Overthinking and self-sabotage are among the main things I've been dealing with for years.

"Thought Vomit" is not about removing intrusive thoughts or repressing them, but about becoming aware of them and identifying their source: maybe when you were a child someone told you something that you internalized and that later became your reality, or maybe you are building these thoughts yourself, and believe them with all your being.

Regardless of their source, understanding that they are coming from a place of self-sabotage can reduce some of the pressure they cause. They are thoughts that live within you, and come in waves, but that we can compartmentalize so as not to let them take over us completely.

„DIVERSITY IS NOT A CRIME”

The present illustration was designed following the emergence of the new wave of aggression against people of the LGBTQIA+ community. Violence, be it in any form, must be fought. But, in the search for justice, we must not lose sight of the healing of the wounds that end up grinding our being to the point of helplessness. This illustration communicates the uproar, but especially the anger constantly felt by minorities, whether we're talking about ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, etc. I chose the title "DIVERSITY IS NOT A CRIME" to criticize the violence and ignorance applied to people whose rights are systematically violated. Indeed, the current political climate is a dangerous one, but I firmly believe that we can fight discrimination through involvement, but also through solidarity.

AmIAlone

Here I tried a new style of illustration, thanks to the photoshop smudge, and I wanted to somehow convey the feeling of loneliness that we feel even if we are surrounded by people in exactly the same situation as us.

Overthinking

I think the title is quite self-explanatory, but the entry of the brain into overdrive, is (for me at least) the most powerful catalyst that brings out apathy, suicidal ideation, and all the other good stuff.

„Schizophrenia”

The collage tries to present the inner world of a person with schizophrenia and at the same time certain external/internal hallucinations, delusions, or experiences. At the same time, I wanted to exemplify through metaphorical images and a blurry background how much alienation such a person can feel from the surrounding world.

Shower thoughts

The drawing is about my declining mental health when I was living in an unknown city alone, and specifically about the toll tinitus had on me.

The best child

"You were such a good child" says my mother when she remembers me, since I was little.

Yes, I was good, afraid that my mother would scold me, who was coming home from work angry; I was eating everything from my plate, cleaning my desk, even wiping my vomit off the floor by myself if I happened to be sick at night. I was so good that I didn't ask for new socks so as not to disturb my parents. I didn't tell them that my pants were too small or that the inside of the boots were gnawing at me so I could barely walk. "I don't need anything" I would tell myself proudly, without realizing that I was actually so good that it seemed I didn't even exist. And is that why my parents loved me? Because I was almost non-existent?

Sinking

The work "Sinking" is about the moment when you feel that you are sinking and you only see down. You get lost among people and faces and it squeezes you on the inside. And all you want to do is dive deeper.
It is made in acrylic and ink, on canvas, 40x40 cm.

Identity

The "Identity" project consists of three canvas representations of responses to trauma (fight, flight, freeze), each canvas being assigned a real character, currently stuck in that type of response, selected through an interview stage. This project is the way I chose to make visible the stories of these brave people, while preserving their anonymity.

In "Fight" we find C., a girl who, through her father's death, ended up having to live her life in a defensive survival mechanism, even with her own person.

In "Flight" we find M., with ADHD, who created two alter egos from a young age as coping mechanisms to take control in difficult situations when he cannot focus on life. When he feels cornered, he switches personalities with one of his alter egos.

In "Freeze" we have A., who grew up in a family environment that lacked the notion of affection, being dominated by beatings and emotional abuse. Years of abuse have caused her to close in on herself, resulting in a body that implodes under the pressure of the feelings she has repressed.

I am trapped

The work "I am trapped" reveals the feelings of a person gripped by depression. Focusing on my own experiences in life where I got "caught" in the webs of monstrous depression, the image appears in the form of a young man, emaciated and drained of strength, of hardships and sorrows. The crouching position, as in the mother's womb, the wrinkles and shadows of the face hide his age, visible only through the physical features of a young man, but brought down by anxiety and negative thoughts. Depression has caught him, wrapped its claws like translucent webs he didn't notice, and now it's pinning him to the ground, holding him captive, as if pulling him lower and lower. The contours are vague, sketchy, reality detaches from him, and the darkness that surrounds him almost swallows him. The black background reveals the figure of a monster. Barely visible, that figure belongs to depression, claws raised and ready to seize its head forever.

Through this work I want to bring awareness to the real problems that the disease of depression brings and, looking at the illustration, I want you to feel to feel understood, to know that you are not alone.

Care for mind

The work "Care for mind" illustrates man trying to overcome the multitude of anxieties in everyday life, by practicing a yoga position, child pose. Practicing this technique, the body and mind relax, ensuring a harmonious development. Therefore, the work represents an incentive to take care of your mental health.

The Awakened Woman and the Union

Awakened Woman - Rediscovering and integrating a feminine side that carries ancient wisdom.