The artwork I Can Feel It in My Eyes by Portia Zvavahera invokes unusual feelings and uncommon thoughts when one is looking at it. When I look at the painting long enough, I get a sense that the work has a mind of its own: it seems like it is thinking about something. The two characters depicted in I Can Feel It in My Eyes hold each other, and it looks like they are thinking about how they can survive in the blue waves of chaos that surround them everywhere (Zvavahera, 2015). I believe the author depicted silhouettes of people because the contours resemble the features of the human body. I can feel that they both cannot let each other go while drowning in the blue abyss of the painting. Moreover, it makes me feel scared and uncomfortable: it is almost like I am in the ocean, just like the characters depicted in the artwork, and the waves are consuming me along with them. Although I only look at the painting, not being a part of it, I still feel a little lightheaded when I look at it, which demonstrates the magnificent power of the art.
I feel like I can actually tell what the painting is thinking because of its genuine ability to involve anyone in its universe. The monotonous dark blue color of the artwork makes everything in the surrounding world small and insignificant, which is why it becomes challenging to pay attention to anything rather than the painting (Zvavahera, 2015). It becomes difficult to breathe, and I slowly immerse into the darkness, where two souls hold each other, trying to save themselves from the unnamed nowhere. It is important to note that the painting draws my eye in because of the contrast of colors. It makes one try to unravel the characters’ story and ponder the conditions of life in the painting. That is, the combined colors of blue and orange in the background enable one’s imagination to picture the story of people’s lives.
I am starting to wonder whether they have any chances for salvation. Supposedly, the one with the red hair is a man, and his companion is a woman. I assume this because one silhouette has long hair, resembling that of a woman. At the same time, the character with the redhead also has male facial features and a short haircut. They can be just strangers who happened to get into the exact circumstances and now use each other to overcome them, or they can be two parts of a love story. Supposedly, I will know for sure once I dive deeper into the dark abyss of the painting. It seems dangerous, but I feel like it is the one action I can and should take at the moment.
However, when I think of the dangers that await my companions in the underworld and me, I notice that there is a way out left by the artist. A small part of the artwork is left unfinished: there is some empty space in the corner (Zvavahera, 2015). Going there would take a leap of faith since there is no guarantee that it is safer there. Nevertheless, the soft and calm colors of the small part of the painting appear significantly more promising than the untamed, unstable black-blue underworld where everyone in the picture is located. Both characters, however, seem to be going a different way, if they are even moving. It is difficult to say: sometimes I feel like the man is holding the woman and they are running somewhere, but sometimes it is like they are just lying on the ground. This is because the lines of the characters’ silhouettes are intertwined and provide space for the viewer’s imagination.
On second thought, everything mentioned above may not have any significance since there is a mystery hiding within this artwork. The lighter world, the place of salvation on the painting’s side, was obviously created by its author. However, she also made the whole picture, which means she knowingly put her characters into the dark abyss and left a way out for them. The question is, why would someone put others into the darkness if they intended to let them find the light? Two people are locked in the hellish underworld and given a single, unreliable way out. It seems like some form of mockery in many respects, but I believe the artist’s reasoning is much deeper than that. I feel like the man and woman are being put to some trial: a trial of their will, their love, their spirit, or something else.
Now that I understand that, I am not afraid anymore as I know everything happening in the painting is how it is supposed to be. I am starting to feel unstoppable, uncontrollable confidence inside of me. Whatever fate awaits the man and woman in the future, I am optimistic they both will eventually reach their place in the world. Whether they decide to go further into the deeps of the abyss or find their way to the light will be their choice, and I feel it will be reasonable. I think I should no longer be their companion: it is time for me to leave the underworld and come to the surface. Now that I am closer to the real world, I can reflect on my journey to the darkness of Portia Zvavahera’s I Can Feel It in My Eyes.
There was not a lot of helpful information – no introduction of the artist herself or any background of the artwork. However, I did think the title of the painting highlighted the most important feature of it and also summarized the story I wanted to tell about thinking. A piece of artwork like this that deliberately gives up realistic details prevents us from spending most of our time on “seeing” all the information. Instead, it encourages our involvement and imagination and prompts us to “feel” the ideas and emotions that are visually presented to our eyes. At the same time, by preserving specific details, the artist leaves us with lots of clues that confine our freedom. Namely, the freedom to explore and assign our own meaning to the piece and guide us to “feel” the work in the way she wants us to feel.
If everything described above was indeed the author’s goal, it is only fair to say that she succeeded. Now that I look back on my emotional experience with this artwork, I understand that it was not Zvavahera’s paintbrush but my own heart that guided me throughout my whole journey. When I started examining the picture, I was not just an observer. I became involved in the action at some point, and my imagination revealed many details of the depicted world that eyes cannot see.
After processing everything, many interesting conclusions come to mind, and the most important of them is the significance of the thinking process. Among all the forms of art, a painting is the most minimalistic one: an artist can only depict a moment in their work. However, the human brain is capable of recreating people, decorations, surroundings, and even past and future events related to the image in the painting. A single thought can turn such an image into an entire universe, and to achieve that, one only has to start thinking.
Reference
Zvavahera, P. (2015). I can feel it in my eyes [painting].