Young & Alive
I began this project after returning from a trip to Toronto, deeply inspired by such an important milestone in my life. My first trip without my parents, one of my closest friends and I travelled to Toronto alone for 3 nights to see my favourite artist in concert. Unlike Edmonton, street art filled most alleyways and many building sides in Toronto. Using the colours of three pictures I had taken of murals there, I created this painting. The “crack” is the shape of the chemical structure of dopamine, the “feel-good” hormone responsible for creativity, pleasure and memory. The galaxy and the angel’s head being swept into it represents my realization of how much there is to discover in life. The feeling of realizing that there is so much to learn about yourself and the world is indescribable and almost surreal. This piece was somewhat of a coping mechanism for me. I used it as a way to express the way this trip changed how I view the world, as there are no words that could possibly do the same.