Untitled 7 (The Puppet Master)

A monumental, mask-like figure cradles a small, brightly clothed body, turning an intimate gesture into a civic icon—tenderness staged against a feverish red field that feels like both tapestry and unrest. The cool, pared-down face and green cap act as a calm axis, while the garment’s ghostly line-drawings of many faces suggest a collective memory stitched into the guardian’s very skin. In the child’s tilted posture and upraised hand, the work holds a suspended breath between surrender and trust, as if care itself must resist the surrounding pressure of the crowd. Color becomes narrative: blue and gold flare briefly like hope, only to be enveloped by the dense, pulsating atmosphere that insists on what it costs to protect the vulnerable.