In accordance with Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.” My artwork attempts to depict this notion using features, colors, shapes, and background.

Article 3 is an essential, if also curious one. It can be argued, on the one hand, to be the basis of all other rights in the Universal Declaration; but it is, on the other, the most abstract and widely defined. What is life and liberty? What are the objective parameters that define such notions? Throughout history, we have sought to understand them objectively, and we have always faltered. The subjectivity, elasticity, and abstractness inherent in these notions is what draws me as an artist to them. This, in a nutshell, is why I chose to depict this Article in my artwork.

My artwork, titled “Whole”, depicts a person in deep security and liberty. The work uses features, colors, shapes, and background to emphasize the state in which this person exists. They are, in a phrase, the concept of liberty personified. Their eyes are closed because they feel protected: to close your eyes while awake is a position of extreme vulnerability and absolute safety–it is being at home with oneself, at home in the world. Their head, moreover, is perched in a balanced posture, and their serene facial expressions are those of a grown child who has never experienced instability.

As for the colors, I used the grey-scale because I didn’t want to call attention to anything but the character themselves. The shades of grey, natural in their neutrality, highlights the facial expression and leave no space for anything else. Working on “Whole”, I felt that colors would be a distraction, and would add an element of either hot energy or inert coldness that would not sit well with the still peace of the character.

Around the forehead and neck, I drew light circular halos as symbols of encompassment and holiness. The neck is a space of vulnerability and personality that can only be accessed by dear and loved ones, whereas the forehead is the seat of the self, where sensations coalesce into coherence. A kiss on the forehead is an offering of kindness and appreciation, and a recognition of agency.

Lastly, I chose not to draw a background, in order to emphasize the foreground, where the character exists in tranquil wholeness.

Artistic expressions of life, liberty and the security of person have a long tradition that predates the 20th century, and extends to this day. I wanted “Whole” to be just such an expression–a subjective work that draws from the heart of an abstraction. In my artworks, I like to employ opposites and contrasts to navigate abstract ideas; this explains my use of grayscale and monochrome. I also like to use shapes, lines, and expressions as portals to these ideas. My attempt in “Whole” is one among many, but it is the closest to the core of my preoccupation with life and liberty.

Thank you!