Where beauty starts

My new collection, Where Beauty Starts, explores insignificance as an entry point to joy.

I found inspiration for the series during a recent trip to Ireland, a country that bears the scars of colonial violence as visibly as it embraces humour, kinship and a ‘good craic.’ Standing at the edge of a rugged cliff, looking out into the endless ocean, I am at once deeply aware of my insignificance and the magnitude of the moment. The expansive Irish landscape and spirit is a reminder that life and its brutality does not require us to indulge in earnest self-seriousness, forgoing happiness to demonstrate our understanding of pain or resolve to address injustice. If we allow it to, however, life’s hardships and our feelings of insignificance urge us to embrace whatever beauty or joy presents itself.

In the series, I’ve used different size canvases to capture the interplay between magnificence and insignificance. The small canvas reveals magnificence no less than the large; it cannot be diminished by the limitations of those who behold it. The large canvas reminds the viewer of their place in the universe, inviting them to feel the liberation that ensues from feeling insignificant.

Poems that have inspired this series, include:

• Misty by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

• Not to Make Loss Beautiful by Gregory Orr

• Yes by William Stafford

• Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver