"Thread" is a meditation on transformation, time, and the quiet inevitability of change. Set within a mystical garden of towering fungi, a young girl bathes in still water, her gaze fixed upon her reflection. Unaware of the subtle shifts in her world, she unknowingly holds a fragile thread—one that will inevitably pull her beyond the sanctuary of childhood. Part of my Garden of Delights series, this work reinterprets Dante’s Circles of Hell as Pools of Paradise, questioning the nature of innocence and the moment it begins to dissolve. Here, paradise is not a place but a fleeting state of being, a pause before awareness reshapes perception. The water, a sacred and transformative element, mirrors both self-discovery and loss. The contrast between the painting’s dreamlike serenity and its underlying tension—stillness against movement, childhood against the future—forms the essence of Thread. Executed with layered oil techniques, the composition is imbued with luminosity and depth, allowing light and shadow to enhance the sense of quiet contemplation. Through this work, I invite the viewer to reflect on their own passage through time. When did we first feel the pull of the thread? At what moment did we recognize that paradise, no matter how beautiful, is never truly eternal?
