A MÉLANGE OF EXPECTED ARTEFACTS

The title for this collection came about last minute, once I’d finished painting all the pieces and realised I needed to release them. It plays on the collection being a mélange (more artsy n fancy way of saying random) of different artefacts (cos pieces has no panache), that would be deemed as something that someone who knows me, would expect to see from me, expect me too paint for a solo exhibition. Something they would see as part of my usual visual dialogue, because they know my inner emo. As you read on, you’ll discover that even though the title of the collection holds no meaningful depth, the paintings themselves do.

This collection started out as a series of digital drawings around the beginning of 2024. At the time of drawing them, I was in a bit of place of feeling lost, hopeless and generally a bit shit about life. But there was a glimmer of hope and faith within me. There was certain life changes that I’d put into the very early stages of motion, within my mind and physical reality. I feel both the negative and small hope of positive change that I had, is reflected in the visual aspect of these paintings and the blurbs that accompany them. It was a very cathartic process for me to finally get them painted. It felt like a shedding of emotions from that period.

Pretty much all of the pieces were originally concepted during early 2024, bar a few that were drawn up earlier in 2025. There was some of the original digital drawings that didn’t make it to the painting stage because I felt they didn’t fit or I wasn’t happy with them and I also wanted to keep it at a round number for the collection. 30 pieces may seem like a lot for a collection at first but once I started drawing them, they just flew out. Some are just negative colour versions of the other and I instinctively felt the need to do this. Reflecting back on why, it’s probably based upon the subconscious awareness of them beaming glimpses of hope and light I had, trying to break through the dark cloud of unsettled woe that was looming over me at the time. I feel this is definitely reflected in the choice of making the black skulls as the original versions and the white ones as the negative versions. The black skulls being the current clouded mood of darkness with the white being the mood inverted into an optimistic mood of light.

There’s little intentional symbols dotted through out the collection. That give note to certain feelings, thoughts n beliefs of the moment. As well as little insights to my general being. Such as the crosses on the eyes or forehead, representing the blindness of the actions I’d taken to being led into yet another emotional and physical state of lowness. The gold teeth are placed on certain characters to mirror the real teeth I’ve lost through dumbfounded behaviour of these characters. The hearts hold meaning to the love I have for my big bad fat kyat, who’s sat with me through the darkness, the love I will have within me to overcome the razor blade thoughts of destruction, the love I see in a world that would often feel like it’s been taken over by demons, the love I will have within me till my last breath. There are a few more little symbols dotted about and each piece does hold a certain meaning or mood but I will leave that for the viewer to decipher through their own experience.

Whom ever you are and wherever you be, thank you for taking a moment to read this and indulge your eyes in my recent collection of feelings & emotions transmuted onto the canvas. I truly appreciate it!

(Disclaimer from my cat. He told me to state that he is not actually physically fat, just fat as in greedy and he is not bad as in naughty, just bad as in badass!)