Small Cells of Time 

24 x 30 cm, Acrylic & Ink on Canvas 2023, Berlin

This project is part of my attempt to turn tragedy into beauty, by exposing my vulnerability.

In recent years, I have been caring for my father in his terminal illness. In his last six months of his life, in July 2023, my hours have been punctuated by his suffering and an unreal sense of waiting. At that point, a huge and exceptional event helped to turn all the situation into a Kafkaesque dream: gigantic hailstones fell on our house, unexpectedly. Our suspended breathing and my father’s heartbeat mixed with the sound of these huge ice balls, falling violently on the roof of our house and creating an out-of-tune soundtrack, a bit like a group of dazed musicians in a soundproof attic. These white balls have settled so much in my memory that they have become the cells of time I spent with him, marking the passing of hours between uncertainty and hope.

Then when he left, they shattered into stardust.