STILL TRYING | EXISTENTIAL OBSERVATIONS

There is a particular kind of exhaustion that exists alongside the expectation to remain composed, attractive and presentable.

STILL TRYING takes the familiar image of the matryoshka, traditionally polished, decorative and permanently cheerful, and replaces its idealised face with that of a very real and very tired woman. Her makeup has begun to run, her expression has lost its performance, yet traces of ornament and beauty remain.

Part of Existential Observations, the work looks at the persistence of keeping up appearances long after the polished surface has begun to fall apart.

Medium: Mixed media on canvas
Dimensions: 50.5 cm H × 40.5 cm W
Series: Existential Observations
Year: 2026
Original artwork: One of a kind
Signed by the artist