Addiction
CONTENT WARNING: This artwork contains or explores content that touches on any of the following topics: abuse (physical, sexual, emotional, verbal); aspects of psychology and mental health and contains depictions of self-harm, substance abuse, eating disorders, or suicide; swears or curses; hurtful or hateful language; discrimination (race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, disability, sexual orientation); aspects of pregnancy; blood, violence, assault, kidnapping, trauma, or dying. Please read or view with care.
Vishaka A.
Acrylic Paint
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I want my audience to feel sucked in, held captive by the glorification of teenage addiction and its destructive cycle. My piece features a boy holding a candle to his mouth like a cigarette, the planes of his face and tender hands illuminated by dramatic orange lighting against a dull, ominous background. The candle mimics subtle commentary on the deceptive allure of addiction, drawing attention to the internal turmoil flickered across the boy’s face. The hands, prominently featured, embody the physical manifestation of this struggle, grasping onto the symbolic candle as a form of self-imposed imprisonment. Through this piece, I wanted to weave a narrative that drew the viewer’s eyes to the match first, then broadened across the illuminated hands, then the face, and finally the foreboding background. Teenage addiction is derived not so much from peer pressure or the desire to be considered “cool” but how one grows to rely on external relief to distract from reality. It grows to become something one can trust, luring its users into its solace and trapping them in an eternal cycle of being one’s own enemy.
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Creativity, to me, is my way of interacting with the world. It is a means to understand the complexities of experiences and the multifaceted nature of living. I wield creativity in a way that enables me to find joy in the little things, like simply drawing a stranger's smile.
