Silent Longing

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Silent Longing is an analysis of my classmate Fatima that explores the emotional depth within her. Through the process of interview questions, I was able to gain an understanding of her sense of emptiness at times, being away from her home in Iran. Through the utilization of monochromatic colours, expression, and body language this piece aims to convey Fatima's effortless emotion of absence away from her country of birth. The rendered black and white monochromatic palette is utilized to mask the distractions of colour overpowering the structural format of this painting. Focusing on the emotional depth through tones, form, and texture together embodies the feelings of Fatima within the work. There is a sense of presence but absence towards her too. She is physically there within the piece but emotionally her mind is somewhere else, lost within her gaze. The hints of the blue underpainting are an addition of colour psychology within the piece building upon the feelings of loneliness and melancholy. The positioning of the Fatima has her arms and head resting upon a window ledge. This pose was to create a moment of stillness in time to visually understand the sense of self-reflection in her life. The gaze towards the viewers is soft but intense which reveals the feelings of yearning. Her big bold eyes draw in a glimpse of her reflecting upon the sense of missing Iran, the place where she was born and raised. Though Canada has become a second home where she has made new friends, pursued an education in art, and explored this beautiful country it will never be able to erase the place where she still has a life. Within the background, the emptiness represents the outside environment beyond the interior space where she is positioned. The outside world creates feelings of distance from the people, landscapes, and sense of belonging that Fatima is missing sometimes with being away from Iran. The visual movement and direction of the window ledge draw the viewer's eyes towards her into reading into the emotions she is expressing. Silent Longing is an emotional rendering of an individual's life that sometimes can be felt distant within the present time due to the absence felt inside. Monochromatic colours emphasize the raw impact of emotional depth presented within the piece that breaks Fatima's emotions within. Listening and reflecting upon an individual's life connects you deeply with them and opens pathways by bringing those emotions and body language into a visual form of narration.

Where it's been: "Face Value", Ada Slaight Gallery, Toronto, ON. 2024