Two Mangosteens

I was drawn to this motif because it resists speed.
The mangosteen is dense, closed, self-contained. I chose it because it doesn’t explain itself. The deep violet is not decorative. It signals ripeness, pressure, something held back. Pastel lets me build this surface slowly, layer by layer. The composition is tight, controlled. Nothing spills out. The question underneath is simple: how much do we keep inside before something changes?

I make art because I need to slow things down. I’m not interested in spectacle. I had to unlearn the need to impress, to justify, to overproduce. What I’ve overcome is noise—external and internal. This work matters to me because it’s honest. No gesture is wasted. It stands without explanation, the way I try to do now.

Why now? Because we live in a time of constant exposure. Everything is open, shared, consumed. This piece goes the opposite way. It’s about containment, about inner weight. For the viewer, it might feel calm—or slightly tense. That tension belongs to our moment. We’re full, but quiet. Waiting, but not passive.