A couple of years ago, I found a quote by Martha Graham. It read: "There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost". I decided to put it on my desk to help me in moments of doubt, to remind me that what I was creating was special as there is only one of me in all time. And of course, this can apply to everyone/anyone. Since then, I have found it easier not to consider my artwork as good or bad, but as a mere expression of what/who I am. The downside is I throw so much of myself into my work that it can be difficult to accept negative feedback; I may take it as a personal attack. However, I seem to care less and less about what people may think because the whole process itself (taking pictures or drawing) is so therapeutic. So now I wonder: what’s the point of showing your artwork if the process itself is good enough for you? I don’t have a definite answer to that question.

Martha Graham’s quote has helped me think of what makes me special, synesthesia* being one of my unique features. And one thing leading to another, I found out that one of my favourite authors, Virginia Woolf, was a synesthete. I then started thinking of a photographic series about Virginia Woolf, that would work as a kind of self-portrait, and at about the same time, a memory from 2010 resurfaced: "Didn’t anyone ever tell you that you look like Virginia Woolf ? I hope that you will take it as a compliment", a colleague said to me. A physical resemblance, yes, indeed, the same elongated face. I had never thought about it. So I began to dig deeper.

*The ability to associate several senses involuntarily; for example, a letter can evoke a colour.