What I Left Below - Painting

Description

A pale stone-blue field holds a tall, softened vertical form rising from the lower third of the composition.
At the base rests a small dark block, heavy and grounded.
The vertical form does not touch it.
Halfway upward, a small warm gold notch remains embedded in the ascent.

Explanation

This work explores the moment when distance becomes possible.

The ascending form is not escape - it is perspective.
The dark block below represents what once anchored, burdened, or defined the self.
The separation between them is intentional and calm.

The gold trace acknowledges that release does not mean forgetting.

Origins / History

Across African cosmologies, ascent often signifies spiritual or personal elevation - not away from the world, but into understanding.

Vertical abstraction follows European modernist spatial logic, reducing narrative into relation.

The emotional reading reflects contemporary diasporic experience: the ability to rise while still carrying memory.

Story / Opening

The artwork does not say what was left behind.

For some, it will be fear.
For others, a former life.
For others, expectations that no longer fit.

Dimensions:

48 × 72 inches (framed)
This piece needs vertical space to breathe.

Interpretation / Viewer Invitation

This work is not about ascent for its own sake.

It is about distance; the kind that comes after recognition, not escape.

The vertical form rises calmly, without urgency.
The dark block below remains grounded, unchanged.
Between them is space - intentional, earned, and quiet.

What was left behind was not erased.
It was acknowledged.

The small golden trace carried upward reminds us that release does not require forgetting.
Some things travel with us - not as weight, but as memory.

Stand with this piece for a moment.
Notice where your eyes rest first.
Notice whether you feel closer to the ground or to the air above it.

The piece leaves one question:

What did you need to leave below in order to rise - and what did you choose to carry with you?

What's Included

• Framed, archival-quality fine art print
• Title printed beneath the artwork in elegant serif
• Certificate of Authenticity
• Collector’s companion card (with artist statement + story)
• Ready-to-hang with gallery hardware
• Optional: Limited Edition Collector Number (if chosen)