There are wounds that fester beyond healing, and truths so bitter they scorch the soul. It is an unfortunate truth that at times a blossoming interpersonal relationship once built on mutual trust, passion, and joy, could turn into the most blood curdling battleground where each party is out to devour the other. What was a once carefree adventure, vibrant with passion and undying devotion, has transformed into a treacherous game of snake and ladder. Every step is a calculated gamble for self-preservation. Every gesture, once tender, now a shattering fragment in the ledger of betrayals, twisting fault and virtue into bitter weapons. The once-sweet air of lush greenery of summertime is long gone, replaced a stench of rot and the crushing weight of what has been irrevocably damaged.

As I sought to understand this commonly found tragedy, a question emerged : was it simply life that changed them, or was this saga doomed from the very beginning? As their young selves cycle merrily down the hill of evergreen memory, their present-day selves, trapped on a shared track, also head toward that very same hill-slope. This time, perhaps to meet a very unfortunate ending of their respective stories.

This artwork was created during my residency at Vermont Studio Center, Vermont, USA. The time spent in a foreign environment, cut away from my usual influences, allowed further reflection on the nature of separation and the death of intimacy. I specifically borrowed Indonesian corpse flowers as the basis for my main figures (the couple sitting across one another), both to signify death and bringing elements from home in combination to the lush forests of the surrounding studio area.