Moray Eel Ball

Artist statement:

This work belongs to the Safari series, but here the journey descends into the mysterious world of the sea. The canvas is built from a diverse combination of materials – plaster, twine, paint, and a palette dominated by pink, white, black, and earthy brown tones. These colors and textures evoke skin and organic matter, giving the surface a vivid, almost pulsating quality.

A particularly striking element is the integration of real, dried moray eel skin, carefully incorporated into the composition. This detail transforms the work from a mere painting into a tangible encounter with the creature it depicts, bringing physical presence and intensity into the artistic space.

The image shows the moray eel in a curled position, an instinctive form of defense and concealment. The combination of raw materials and organic fragments creates a tension between beauty and discomfort, inviting the viewer to confront the thin boundary between the natural and the artificially created.