holding me like water in your hands.

20"x24"
Oil

While Phoebe Bridgers’ “Moon Song” provides imagery of water running through a set of hands and fingers, I interpreted the lyric as containers of water. Often, I feel “contained” in a variety of ways as a woman, a lover, a friend, and any other person I might be to anyone else. The holding of glasses also serves a utilitarian purpose. How often do we provide “roles” in each other’s relationships? With this piece, I thought a lot about how water is essentially formless until it’s prescribed one, such as a glass, a pitcher, or even a vase. Water will fill whatever vessel is needed. I think about how we take pride and ownership in “knowing” someone, and conversely, the desperate desire to be “known.” However, if I can’t adequately describe myself, how can I maintain the expectation that someone else could capture me in a mere phrase or two? Like the phases of the moon, I am in a constant state of change; waxing and waning, as water wriggles in a glass or rolls in the ocean. Additionally, the glasses obscure a complete vulnerability that the figure is offering. The breasts are covered, and the cut of the glass surface distorts the body beneath. Needless to say, the head is entirely lobbed off, focusing on the glasses of water. Finally, the fingers point to each other (reminiscent of the Creation of Adam), but they don’t quite touch, igniting a sense of tension through the incomplete gesture. Had they touched, a complete circle would have been formed through the hands, arms, and chest, therefore, reminding us that there’s never a complete understanding of one another.