The Emotional Landscape

The way we decorate our homes is often treated as a matter of taste, when it is actually about emotional readiness. Creating a space requires attachment and decision-making. This can be difficult during periods of uncertainty. This work reflects the belief that beauty and self expression do not need to be postponed. Sometimes you have to take a moment to stop and look at how far you have come.

Story of Creation

This piece emerged from observing how closely our relationship to our home or space mirrors our inner stability. During times of transition (frequent moves, unstable relationships or uncertainty) our homes often remain temporary by default. Decorating can feel premature, as though claiming a space requires a certainty that hasn’t arrive yet.

While creating this piece I was interested in how shoes carry this emotional tension. Leaving a space undecorated can reduce the emotional cost of leaving, while shoes became a way to examine how you navigate and present yourself in the world. This painting becomes a reminder of taking little steps forward by choosing to stay and inhabit the life you are living.

Personal Connection

This work connects closely to my own experience of living from country to country and moving around a lot while working on a boat. The desire to create a home existed but it was always postponed during periods of stress or working abroad. Recognising this pattern became part of the work itself. Choosing to hang art on my walls began to feel less like decorating my home and more like a declaration that I was stepping out of survival mode and choosing to stay in a place I felt was now mine.