When the Light Reaches Me — Selected for “Portraits of Self”

Portraits of Self explores the parts of ourselves that are often difficult to face openly — self-worth, trauma, healing, identity, vulnerability, and the process of learning to see ourselves with more compassion. The exhibition brings together work that speaks honestly about those experiences while also offering hope and encouragement to others.

About the artwork
When the Light Reaches Me is about the decision to keep stepping towards the light, even when progress feels slow.

The face is held in a harsh shadow, representing the weight of painful thoughts, low self-worth and the parts of ourselves we sometimes hide when being seen no longer feels safe. But at the bottom of the portrait, the darkness begins to break apart through alternating lines of black and white.

For me, those lines are important.

The light does not reach the face all at once. It rises gradually. Each line represents another attempt, another morning and another decision not to give up.

Healing is not always one dramatic breakthrough. Sometimes it is simply getting up and trying again. It is exploring different ways forward, reaching out to different people and continuing until we find what is right for us — what allows us to find peace within ourselves, heal and grow again.

There have been times when it was difficult not to despair and stop trying altogether. But there was always one question that kept coming back: What if tomorrow is the day? What if I am already closer than I realise? Let me just see tomorrow, to be sure. 

That thought is at the heart of this piece.

Tomorrow gives us another chance. What went wrong today will already belong to yesterday. And it does not matter how many tomorrows it takes. Yesterday does not have to decide what happens next. What matters is that we continue. 

I am very happy that When the Light Reaches Me will now be part of Portraits of Self and that it can stand alongside the work of other artists exploring these deeply personal themes.