The Pond, 2025

materials: beeswax, damar resin, pigment on wood board

111 cm x 102 cm x 5 cm

The Buddhist mantra Om Mani Padme Hum offers a simple yet profound truth: just as the lotus blooms in muddy waters, beauty can be found even in life’s most challenging moments. This philosophy has quietly shaped both my life and artistic practice, a reminder that when times are difficult, when mental health wavers, or when the path forward is unclear, there is still goodness and beauty waiting to emerge.

I began The Pond in 2023 during a period of personal struggle. The early stages of the work reflected this state of mind, dark, heavy, and without clear direction. Layers of beeswax accumulated on the canvas, serving no purpose beyond giving me a reason to return to the studio. Yet, over time, the process itself began to reveal something more. Through carving and excavating the beeswax, unexpected forms surfaced. One day, while scraping back the layers, I uncovered the figure of a small woman swimming beneath the surface. She seemed joyful and carefree, a striking contrast to my internal landscape. For months, she remained visible, a quiet companion in the studio, before eventually slipping back beneath the wax. I like to imagine her still there, gliding unseen beneath the surface.

As I continued to work, a transformation took place. Delicate buds of lotus flowers began to emerge from the wax, floating on the surface like lilies on a pond. The painting evolved into a serene, reflective space, a reminder of the quiet beauty that persists beneath life’s turbulence. This unfolding process mirrored a shift within myself: a sense of lightness, clarity, and peace gradually emerged alongside the tranquil waters of The Pond.

As with much of my practice, the work seemed to guide itself toward resolution. What began as a reflection of uncertainty and heaviness became a meditation on resilience and beauty, a visual embodiment of the mantra that unknowingly influenced it.