Towards the light

The painting stems from a reflection on the theme of ascent, which I chose to deal with starting from autobiographical references. The ascent is closely linked to the idea of elevation, first of all physical – climbing upwards – but also metaphorical – ascending in the sense of improving one’s condition. It’s on this second meaning of the term that my work focuses, a metaphorical and symbolic representation of the self-improvement path. Towards the light is inspired by a real and normal situation – a surflifesaving competition called mannequin carry – that I used as a visual metaphor to talk about the great effort required to overcome difficulties and accept change. I chose to distort the original setting by making the image emerge from a black background, from which the swimmer moves away with difficulty but also with decision, heading from the darkness towards calm, clear and bright waters. Her progress is made more difficult by the weight of the mannequin, just as it is difficult and tiring to maintain the intent to improve one’s state by always having to fight against memories and prejudices.