Self-Impending pool, 2019

SELF-IMPENDING POOL was an exploration of a recurring dream and a pursuit for clarity in its meaning.

In the dream, I was sitting beneath a large willow tree and looking at my reflection in a pool of water, but my reflection kept becoming distorted as the ripples of water kept appearing and disappearing when the droplets of rain interrupted the water’s surface. Suddenly, I see myself clearly in the water and then my point of view suddenly changes to third-person, and I slowly start floating above my body further & further away, until I am far above the water and the willow tree.

Looking back, I see this dream as a symbolic representation of life and identity being constantly intertwined. For many years I did not feel confident in the way I looked, and it took many years of discovering myself and my style to become confident in my body, and therefore more confident in my identity. I see the pool of water as a mirror, like Narcissus looking at himself in the river with admiration, except the rain was a symbol of my insecurity and clouded me, not showing me clearly. Upon a final moment of clarity, I am lifted to a new, all-seeing perspective.

This painting was a follow-up study to my previous painting, REFLECTION, as both paintings are based upon the premise of this dream, but I wanted this piece to stand out as its own individual work, therefore I chose to paint this work in watercolour, rather than in oils, like REFLECTION.

SELF-IMPENDING POOL has been sold.