Tiger (Tiger's Gaze)

This meticulously patterned tiger head becomes a mandala of vigilance, where feral power is disciplined into ornament and the wild is rendered as sacred geometry. The strict bilateral symmetry steadies the gaze, while dense black-and-white linework—stripes, chevrons, and filigreed spirals—creates a vibrating optical field that makes the animal feel both iconic and alive. Light is not painted but carved from the paper through negative space, so the face reads as a mask of identity: at once protective, ceremonial, and quietly confrontational. In turning predator into pattern, the work suggests how instinct can be contained, translated, and even honored through culture’s intricate codes.