SHE LIVES, SHE PAINTS
Oil on canvas, 120 x100
My grandmother is Balinese. And I always wonder what she thought of life. Leaving her island in the East and moving to the West.
How did she coop? What mask did she put on to survive that change? Masks are an important part of her culture. The symbolism in her religion.
SHE FIGHTS, SHE CHARMS
Oil on canvas, 120 x100
The "eye of Ra" is typically shown as the right eye and stands for strength, anger, and force as it symbolized the sun and was hence known as the right eye.
While the "eye of Horus" on the left symbolizes the moon.
The right eye represents the male, while the left eye represents the feminine (you may relate to their emotional side because it is the half of the brain that deals with emotion). One may view our numerous layers by looking over the left eye of the mask.
SHE WORKS, SHE BLOOMS
Oil on canvas, 120 x100
East is the direction in which the sun rises. It is the source of light, and inspiration—the source of life itself. It is the time of awakening, the beginning point. East tells us that it is time to get up, wake up, start moving.
The west may symbolize death or decline; the end of a particular phase of your life. It may also stand for intuition - that is, unconscious modes of knowledge.
In the Western culture, it may symbolize the opposite of above - namely, rational intelligence, or materialistic alienation from Nature.
SHE OBSERVES, SHE FINDS
Oil on canvas, 120 x100
Beautiful "houses" were built by the ancient Balinese to hold transcendental forces and spirits. Since the masks represent the divine being or energies in a physical form, they serve as an outlet for ancestor spirits and other spirits to visit and interact with the physical world.
SHE FAILS, SHE WINS
Oil on canvas, 120 x100
In our modern world, we all engage in masquerade on a regular basis. People use the numerous masks they wear during the day as social disguises to get through various circumstances. A person can change their inherent personality through the act of masking in order to comply with societal demands, unfair treatment, or harassment.