Painting of the Day: "Santa Eulalia"

"Santa Eulalia" by Christina Vela

  I was first drawn to Christina Vela's paintings because of the amazing details in them. Her ballpoint drawings are bloody brilliant, and the amount of creativity she has is evident. The drawing above, though, really called to me.

  "Abyssus abyssum invocat". Latin for "deep calls". What calls? ...Her imagination? The darkness of her soul? Then there's the very obvious sinister figure standing behind her. His face a sort of blur; his burly build looming over her; with hands far bigger than hers, holding a blade to her neck. The girl's wrists are bound and yet she seems happy. Thus it brings more questions....

  Is the sinister figure a representation of death? Where the girl has nothing to live for. Her world an endless abyss of darkness. The ribbons being there to cover the scars of her hurt... The many nights she spent on the bathroom floor; bloodied blade beside her; tear-streaked cheeks. Then one day, the hurt being too much to bear... Thus the arrival of death being an end to it all, and she embraced death with a smile.

  Or maybe it's a visual representation of some people's dance with the darkness, where they pursue dangerous things in order to feel alive. How far can you push the boundaries? Perhaps the sinister figure has more of a symbolic meaning, where she dies a symbolic death and is freed to indulge in her dark imagination. Where the restraints of society and everyday life (symbolised by the ribbons on her wrists) no longer matter. Where she free-falls into the darkness and accepts that it is part of her and who she is. The deep call of her soul. Abyssus abyssum invocat.

  Follow Christina Vela on her Tumblr.