Between Surrender and Hope

Dimensions: 27.80 H × 20.08 W in
Medium: Gouache on colored paper
Year: 2026

Two women by the river — two states of being, suspended between the feeling of complete surrender and a quiet, almost imperceptible sense of hope.

In this work, the river becomes a metaphor for life and time, continuing to move regardless of our inner state. Two women sit by the water, perhaps after swimming or before entering it. One is absorbed in herself, as if she has stopped waiting. The other looks into the distance, toward the direction in which the river flows, as though still waiting for something beyond what can be seen.

I wanted to capture not so much a contrast between despair and hope as the very subtle state between them — the moment when a person feels that they have completely surrendered. Yet it is precisely at this point, when the need to fight and control what is happening begins to disappear, that space for hope unexpectedly emerges. Surrender here is not an ending. It becomes part of an inner movement, after which a new beginning becomes possible.

The difference in age between the two figures also carries meaning, although I intentionally do not seek to explain it literally. Perhaps with experience, we begin to perceive difficulties and change differently — not as a final point, but as part of a longer journey. What may feel like an ending at one age can later be understood as a transition toward something new.

The work is executed in gouache on toned blue paper. As in some of my other works, I left certain areas of the paper unpainted, allowing its color to become part of the painted surface. The cool blue tone creates a sense of summer freshness, water, and silence, while the loose handling of color preserves a feeling of air and movement.