Drowsing (2020) portrays solitude as a hunched figure with a face turned around, appearing as though it is holding the weight of isolation psychologically and physically. In particular, the inversion of the head disrupts the figure, which seems to show its understanding and self-awareness of its loneliness as it looks upon itself- only.
The texture of the painting adds a slight disruption to it; it seems heavier and has now become dense. Loneliness has become denser the more you move around the painting. The emotional weight of solitude is thus pulling the figure down and down, hence creating a drowsy feel for the figure. The painting obscures the figure’s identity and seems blank for the viewer to insert themselves into, or perhaps this isolation can remove your identity to the point you cannot recognise yourself anymore.
The figure’s hands are not clenched or clasping themselves but rather open and withdrawn. It is as though they are markers that the figure has given up on searching for clearance for its loneliness. It has nothing to hold onto, not even itself, and it continues to search but finds nothing.
Exhausted (2020) has the figure, this time hunching forward towards us with its head looking downwards. The hands are seemingly lifeless, and the body is quite limp. We can no longer see the figure’s facial expression (though they were expressionless prior), thus reducing the subject to nothing- as though they cannot lift themselves, hence the exhaustion.
The slumped shoulders seem to show the weight and burden that is taking the figure down; it is as though the figure has been devalued to having no purpose. As mentioned previously, the hands themselves show the isolation and the need for connection as they do not hold or hang onto anything. With the layered, textured approach to the painting, it seems this figure is melting into the background. The exhaustion thus becomes hazy, and they surrender to it.
Moving onto the colour of the painting and the series together, it seems earthy and sombre. They form together to create an atmosphere of sadness and regret, as though the figure continuously goes through self-hating thoughts and feelings of worthlessness.
The background in the image does not seem to show any object the figure is sitting on. Its appearance is simply as though it is hazy and misty, and the textures replicate the graininess of a photograph, turning the figure into a forgotten (or in the process of) memory. The background also confines the figure into this space, a prison where they have found themselves in a mental prison.
Unbound (2020) has the figure in a much more unsettling position than the previous two works; it seems as though it no longer has any freedom and has become empty inside. It is collapsed and tense, as though it is fighting itself. The head has been distorted and is looking downward in a very uncomfortable positioning. The facial features show an expressionless face, and the subject feels as though it has lost all of its identity.
Unlike the previous artwork in the series, the figure seems to be resting on a sofa or an object. The figure does not seem to have the strength to get up from this state and has become formless on this object. The loneliness thus causes the figure to simply sleep their isolation away, and this position shows the unravelling of this isolation.