"Don't Mind the Pain"
Acrylic on canvas
6"x6"

"In the sand-swept sprawl of the panoramic film Lawrence of Arabia a scene of quintessential machismo stands out: T. E. Lawrence holding his hand over a candle flame until the flesh starts to sizzle. When his companion tries the same thing, he recoils in pain, crying “Doesn’t that hurt you?” as he nurses his burned hand. “Yes,” Lawrence replies coolly. “Then what is the trick?” the companion asks. “The trick,” Lawrence answers, “is not to mind.” (Natural History of The Senses, Ackerman, page 101)

This piece is acrylic on a 6x6 canvas. I painted a hand hovering over a flame and I found this quote to be particularly interesting because it feels like a metaphor for either love or life. Love is gentle love is kind, but most of the time, love hurts. If it is good love, it hurts for the right reasons and that is a love worth fighting for. If it is a bad hurt, such as when a relationship becomes toxic and abusive (whether that be physical, mental, or emotional), we can be blinded by it and refuse to acknowledge the truth in fear of loosing the person. My other analysis is that this quote is a metaphor for life because in a very similar way, life hurts. Life is full of struggle and pain but we fight through it because that is what is required. 


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