Trapped in The Dark | Original Art | Illustration
Medium: Mixed media on paper
Style: Abstract, Expressive, Symbolic
Techniques: Layered brushwork, fluid movement, dynamic strokes, contrast of colour intensity
Palette: Rich, warm tones of gold, red, and yellow contrasted with softer, muted hues
Key Features: Two fragmented figures emerging from the canvas, distorted forms resembling a broken dream, layered movement creating a sense of disconnection
Description:
Created during Chapter 2 (2020 - 2023), this piece is part of the Versions of Robert Collection—a deeply personal body of work reflecting my journey through my mother’s stroke, dissociation, and eventual dementia. This period of my life involved immense inner soul work, each piece acting as a page in a diary, often accompanied by a poem or story.
This artwork presents two figures—trapped in their own realities, yet inextricably connected. Their forms appear fractured, as though dissolving into the background, symbolising the loss of self in the darkness of trauma, collective pain, and unresolved histories. The brushwork, vibrant yet chaotic, embodies the tension between awareness and avoidance—the struggle of witnessing suffering yet feeling powerless to change it.
The composition speaks to the duality of existence: one figure stands in a golden glow, while the other is marked by raw, bleeding reds—two sides of the same experience, two lives shaped by the weight of belief, ego, and inherited narratives. This work is a reflection on how we perceive suffering—not just as individuals, but as a collective humanity caught in cycles of pain, history, and “I am right” ideologies.
A haunting reminder of duality, shared pain, and the illusions of separation.
Details:
- Size: A4 Illustration
- Material: Mixed media on paper
- Unframed
- Original, signed by the artist
- Limited Edition Giclée Prints Available – 150 prints total across three sizes, including the original size
