Bent, but Not Broken

Dimensions: 29.45 H × 39.37 W in
Medium: Gouache
Year: 2026

The figure of a man lying on the rocks by the river.

The figure of the lying man is surrounded by a dense wall of forest — dark, almost impenetrable, both beautiful and slightly threatening. He lies on the rocks by the water as if after a long struggle, when his strength is nearly exhausted. Yet for me, this state is not one of brokenness. It is a pause — a moment when a person needs to stop in order to regain strength for another attempt.

His bent arm becomes a small but important gesture of resistance. It suggests an intention to rise, to continue moving, to make another attempt. I wanted to convey this contradiction: outwardly, the man appears defeated, yet within him there is still an enormous reserve of strength. Sometimes stopping is necessary not because we are no longer capable of moving forward, but because we need to restore our ability to continue.

In this work, nature becomes a reflection of the figure’s inner state. The dark forest seems to surround him from all sides, creating a sense of pressure and obstacles, while the river continues to move beside him. The water reminds us that time and life do not stop, even when a person is forced to pause.

The painting is executed in gouache on gray paper. I paid particular attention to the silhouette and the physical presence of the figure, seeking to make it the emotional center of the composition. I wanted the figure to convey a sense of physical exhaustion while simultaneously holding a sense of inner strength. In some areas of the background, I intentionally left the gray surface of the paper exposed, allowing it to interact with the painted layers and preserve a sense of air, naturalness, and incompleteness.