Anima Mea is latin, roughly meaning, of the or from the soul, and this piece is about that, the soul. No it is not a gay thing (so many people who saw the piece in progress assumed that it was because of the rainbow, but it has other symbolism in this.)
I was listening to a podcast about human existence. What does it mean to be human and furthermore, how is identity defined. I spiraled down a rabbit hole of literal soul searching research.
My conclusion maybe more questions than answers, but here you go: our souls (and ultimately our identities) are trapped in this intense battle between who we want to be (what we want for ourselves, where we see ourselves, what we think we deserve, etc.), who we are expected to be (career, family, peers, societal pressures and explanations, etc) and the often sad reality of who we are (our actual right now). Can a person, a soul, ever truly be authentic while this battle rages? Deeper, can happiness ever truly be obtained?
With all of this on my mind, the idea of this painting came to me. In intial skecthes, I drew a silhouette centered in a canvas, pulled and suspended by threads in a yin yang - esque situation. I wanted each side to exist in strong contrast so I decided on black (void of color) vs. the color spectrum. I knew i wanted the darkness to exist in the light and vice versus so I painted and threaded in opposition.
Comments