"Intimacies" is my mapping of a slow, introspective journey I embarked on over half a year. It started on a day clouded by an inexplicable sadness, a ghostly presence that hovered for hours then vanished as mysteriously as it had arrived. I met it with a quiet reverence, the two of us spending the day in a shared silence. By the next morning, that weight had lifted, leaving me feeling unexpectedly light and mended in places I hadn't realized were frayed.

The exhibit is a collection of scenes drawn from the vault of my personal, profound, and private experiences, ones I never verbalize. Cast in shadows, awash with light, or suspended in the dim glow of dusk, they sketch the vivid contrasts that texture my existence.

ABOUT EMOTIONS

There’s a universal mandate in our society: display your happiness. Every second, a thousand selfies are captured across the globe, all featuring smiles. The planet is on the brink of becoming uninhabitable within the century. Just smile. War emerges from the depths. Just smile. A billion people worldwide still suffer from hunger. Just smile. Democracies crumble into idiocracies. Just smile.

In my intimacy, I hold my sadness and tears, anger and shouts, fear and disgust as dearly as my joy. My life is a palette: dark hues, bright colors, shadows, and textures. My emotions refine me, making me more insightful, empathetic, and discerning. I nurture them in their many forms: melancholy, tranquility, fear, love, compassion, bursts of laughter...

Sadness heals, fear protects, anger motivates, disgust prevents harm, surprise enlivens. Without these, happiness, joy and positive energy, laughter, and love would cease to exist. My artwork is sometimes criticized for being sad or “uncomfortable”. Yes, and more than ever, out of love, to stir awareness, out of ego.

__Milena Carbone