To begin with when I first started my IB art program, I knew I wanted to tell a narrative through my artworks. I’ve always loved the romance genre from a far and in general human’s ability to love and care for one another, so I decided to play on the idea and also combine it with the worries and doubt I have about what love looks like in the real world and decided to explore the idea of the different stages of a relationship; from the start to its bitter end. After all, I am young, and I’ve yet to explore the full experience and nature of emotions, so this theme for me was a great way to explore my own understanding of love and the failure of it through my passion in art. I’m an artist at heart but I am also a storyteller who wishes my artwork can go far more than just an interesting visual piece.

I remember the first day of my program and being thrust into a new world of complexity and experiences with art. In detail I could remember my first artwork created for the theme and also my first artwork for the exhibition capitulates on the idea of doubt and anxiety we have in a relationship and especially at the earlier stages of it for some people. Working on the artwork I titled “Apple of My Eye” it was as if I was a newborn calf just learning how to stand on my own feet. This first artwork makes the genesis but also as we explore my exhibition further, it explores the beginning of a downfall. Afterall not all romances and relationships in the real world ends with a happily ever after. Furthermore, as we learn and spend time further in our program I expand my view to new avenues of artists expressing their passion and emotion in so many different varying styles and mediums. I remember getting inspiration from many different studio work in varying random occurrences from my day to day life. Going back to my first artwork for the exhibition, I chose to explore the beauty of the human body presented through Lucian Freud’s art. I studied his technique, color palette and distortion of a realistic human representation as a representation of an artist’s celebration of the human body. Something I wished to understand and present in my own artwork. As my journey progressed, I had to face obstacles and also revelations of my own treatment of my artistic vision and passion. I realized that when I came up with the different smaller ideas presented in my artworks, it seemed like I was sewing together something bigger than life to me even though for what it is, I am just another student struggling through the rigorous and time-consuming art programme. With the passing of time, I of course also learned of my preferences in my art process. I realized that I seemed to enjoy painting a variety of subjects such as human portrait or scenery in mediums of oils and acrylic paint. It seemed that I preferred oil and acrylic due to it’s forgiving nature and how strong they are in pigment in contrast to watercolor. With watercolor paint I had to be calculative and careful, with oil and acrylic I was free to lay down bold ideas that I could just coverup had I disliked the end result.

Therefore, going into the final days of the program - my final and current artwork revolves around the two sides of a breakup. It explores the negative and positive way people could react to departing from their relationship and either moving on to heal or wallowing in anguish. The artworks that I’ve selected for this exhibition sums up and represents the journey that I wish to tell to the audience of my artwork of how not all romance and passion can withstand the test of time and reality. My audience should be able to connect emotionally to my art by relating the nuances of what I show in my art to their own personal experiences. In the end, this exhibition aims to show my progress and a story from beginning to end.