A couple of weeks ago I came out of a very different vacation period than I used to take in recent years. I’ve been painting since 2009 and there`s always a point in work and in life (well not 1, several) in which you decide what do you want, who you are and what you hope to achieve; It is one of these reflections that I have decided to capture back at work, hoping that it will serve as an emotional catharsis, as a conclusion and also as a new way of giving meaning and remaining motivated with what I paint on the street.
CONTEXT:
The mural has been made within the framework of the DOCKS project, in the city of Almere in the Netherlands, thanks to the initiative of District 13 (DC13) and Amsterdam Street Art (ASA). With the participation of 21 national and international artists who completely intervened the 100 linear meters prepared for the intervention.
CONCEPT:
The word HOPE is commonly used as a synonym for “positivism” in a context in which we usually say that everything will be well, understanding that “good” as the materialization of our dreams and desires fulfilled, what we consider to be best for us in that moment. specific moment. To me, on the other hand, I am more interested in separating this concept of Hope from positivism and delving into it in its true form, through a phrase that I read not long ago:
“Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out” Václav Havel.
A life without hope would then be an empty life in which there would be no constant learning and evolution of who we are; rethinking ourselves and accepting that our desires, goals and life objectives change over the years is, in my opinion, the easiest path to happiness, understanding that our decisions are not right or wrong, but are the result of a version of ourselves in a specific space, time and situation. Regretting decisions from the past creates a distortion of who we are and unnecessary frustration as we judge a version of ourselves from the past with our knowledge of the future, wishing we had done things differently in the belief that that path would lead us. toward an improved version of the present, regardless of who we were and what we wanted at the time of that decision.
I have always been very concerned about evolution within my work, but I had never realized that this thirst for change comes intrinsically from what I expect of myself and how I constantly visualize myself. Until not long ago I thought that the idea of always seeing a change came from external stimuli, of the immediacy of virtual communications and the amount of new information we need daily to maintain an idea of progress, which is associated with everything being better, but which really responds more to an idea of adaptation and constant changes.
To evolve is to transform and it is for me, a direct consequence of living in a life where hope gives meaning to our actions, thoughts and feelings, helping us to adapt to our immediate reality; have the conviction that with each change new tools will come to overcome difficulties and enjoy the joys, accept that we will never be sure of our future but that if we are sufficiently aware of our strengths/weaknesses and brave enough to pursue what we want, we will that makes us feel full and happy, even if nothing goes as planned, there is a certainty that will always remain with us and it is none other than knowing that we will always be at peace with ourselves, and there can be no greater satisfaction than that.
