THE YOUNG MARTYRS

Oil on canvas, 2018

In these paintings, I portray my close friends in their most vulnerable moments. What began as a personal mourning soon became an excuse to ask them to share with me their painful or sorrowful experiences — each one deeply different and personal. Through this process, I came to understand not only the level of intimacy and complicity required to reveal oneself completely vulnerable, but also that we share common anxieties, a profound fear of the future that always threatens to condemn us to loneliness, abandonment, and failure.

In these works, I seek to capture the fragility of the human spirit, the beauty of vulnerability, and the power of connection. With each brushstroke, I aim to convey the raw emotion that lies beneath the surface, to reveal the essence of each individual and their unique experience.

Through painting, I gave their faces an almost cadaveric pallor, attempting to turn that uncomfortable, awkward grimace into a sublime moment — into pure emotion that transcends individuality. Uneasy with their tears, they all appear reflective and slightly ashamed. They do not confront the viewer directly; their lost gazes neither accuse nor question, but rather remain exposed — open, and quietly human.