“THE YIN OF CHILDLIKE ESSENCE”

heavy body acrylic/liquid acrylic/pen/colored pencil.

All of the following work was done with my non-dominant left hand; they are representative of the reacquaintance with my inner-child, which was lost at an early age by the adoption of self sufficiency; and the 'yin' nature of childlike essence.

the technique of utilizing only my left hand to paint and draw is the result of continual discontent with the misalignment between my feelings and the pictorial expressions thereof. through introspection, i discovered the problem was that i was trying to fit a square inside of a circle and expecting them to somehow formulate one coherent shape. the language of my body and the language in my heart were two different dialects - a miscommunication between the yin and yang within me. 

in chinese philosophy, yin and yang composes two fundamental energy principles: yang is masculine, rational, angular, controlled, the corporal right; yin is feminine, sensitive, soft, uncontrolled, the corporal left. everything that exists is presumed to exhibit the interplay of this dichotomy. the ideal of ‘balance’ is one that has a key role in the yin and yang philosophy: nothing is ever all one or the other, but a balance between both forces. the dilemma that i was experiencing with using my right hand in painting and drawing was that the soft yin nature of my emotions were trying to express itself via the wrong part of my body - the yang. the moment i started creating with my left hand, i felt completely free... i was able to let go and let be without the limitation of my controlled and rational self, similar to that of a child; my feelings/heart and body were finally aligned in one shape and speaking the same dialect.

the literal embodiment of "childlike essence" can be depicted in these works through the shaken lines, erratic strokes and scribbles outside imperfect shapes. metaphorically, these gestures are representative of the underlying thread which every life force shares: the yin; a childlike limitless, unfiltered expression of feeling projected in the fragile time before perfectionistic standards and societal appropriations have been indoctrinated - before the 'yang' has been learned.