The Rope was my first fully realized body of work—one I could truly call my own. It emerged intuitively, without a mapped-out plan, unfolding one image at a time. Each scene was guided by the rope itself, which became both material and metaphor: a thread of emotional narrative, a sculptural device, and a character in its own right.

This series marked the beginning of my exploration into performative self-portraiture and exaggerated characters. The figures exist in surreal, often theatrical compositions—some playful, others haunting. The rope binds, holds, pulls, and distorts, echoing inner states of tension, control, conflict, and vulnerability. Every placement of it was deliberate, carefully choreographed to provoke meaning. For example, in Our Slithering Words, the rope transforms into a snake, wrestling with the figure in a visual metaphor for a destructive dialogue with someone once close—a conversation that has spiraled into sharp misunderstanding and mutual harm.

I didn’t know then where the series would lead, only that I needed to follow the rope. What it tied down, what it lifted, and what it left exposed became the story.

Love On Display