Hope

HELEN JIN

ARTIST STATEMENT

This piece is part of a series in which I personify human emotion, in this case, ‘Hope’. The figure is neither male nor female because hope is a universal human emotion. The bleakness of the white vs. black and the chapped, flaky skin is contrasted with the vibrant colors and juiciness of the pomegranate, an irony because the pomegranate is typically a symbol for death while humans are a symbol of life. The character clings onto this symbol of life because life may be desolate, but the moment people have hope, they have life. In this moment, the lifeless figure is filled with movement, breath, and life. The figure extends beyond the boundaries of the piece, putting it in the viewer’s space and making it, the emotion, relatable to the viewer. This is a mixed media piece that uses charcoal and soft pastel over tempera and acrylic paint for the pomegranate.