Series 5: Kittens Are Liquid, Hearts Are Squishy, Robots Are Solid

Description

Series 5:

Kittens Are Liquid, Hearts Are Squishy, Robots Are Solid

At first glance, the title feels playful, almost absurd. Yet beneath its humour lies a meditation on the nature of vulnerability.

A kitten presses gently against a robot’s chest, searching for warmth where none should exist. One is fluid, instinctive and endlessly curious; the other is engineered, rigid and emotionally unreadable. Between them unfolds a quiet encounter that neither fully understands, yet both seem to need.

The work explores a paradox of modern life. We often present ourselves as solid composed, efficient and emotionally protected while carrying hearts that remain as soft and impressionable as ever. Strength has become a performance, but tenderness continues to find us in unexpected ways.

The kitten becomes more than an animal. It represents innocence, affection and the parts of life that refuse to recognise the walls we build around ourselves. It does not care whether the robot can love; it simply chooses to.

Scale plays an important role in the work. At 180 × 110 cm, the painting elevates an intimate moment into something monumental, suggesting that small acts of gentleness deserve the same attention we usually reserve for grand achievements.

Ultimately, the painting asks a disarming question: if something built from steel can become a vessel for compassion, perhaps our greatest strength has never been in becoming harder but in allowing softness to reach us anyway.