hannah louisy - underneath a red sun - issue 13

Hannah Louisy

6th year, Studio Arts

Underneath a Red Sun

13 x 12 inches

pencil crayon

2022

Description:

A figure lays down in a sea of grass. They place their hands over their heart as a white cocoon-like substance engulfs them. The blades of grass appear blurred by motion and converge at a point above the person’s head. The viewer feels like they are rushing forward, towards a place directly under the giant red sun. 

The cocoon substance around the figure represents a site of self transformation or decomposition of the ego. It can be armour but also a prison with an open door. It traps the figure onto the ground, but doesn’t fully engulf them, so they can break away at any point. There is a sense of warmth that comes from the size and colour of the sun and the figure’s hands over their heart. 

This piece contemplates the act of surrender, an act that innately requires a blind sense of hope. When you surrender to what is and what will be, you are placing trust in yourself, the world around you, and trust in the future. In this way surrender, trust, and hope go hand in hand.