Trust

Year: 2024
Size: 5 × 7 inches
Display: Black frame
Medium: Watercolor

Two people embrace as though they share a close and trusting relationship. To the naked eye, the person being stabbed appears to be the innocent victim of a cruel betrayal. A closer look reveals that his own hand is reaching behind the other person’s back to steal from him. Neither person is aware that the other is betraying him at the exact same moment.

The embrace represents the outward performance of friendship. Their bodies appear close, but their hidden hands reveal the truth of the relationship. One person uses violence while the other uses deception, showing that betrayal does not always take the same form. The knife creates an immediate wound, while theft damages the relationship more quietly.

The black background removes any distraction and traps the figures inside their shared dishonesty. Their bright clothing and almost cartoonish appearance contrast with the ugliness of their actions, reflecting how cruelty can hide beneath ordinary faces, friendly gestures, and familiar relationships.

Trust explores the instinct to divide people into victims and villains before seeing the entire situation. The person being harmed is also causing harm, and the person committing the most visible betrayal is simultaneously being betrayed. Neither person is completely innocent, yet each would probably tell the story as though he were.

The painting suggests that trust must move in both directions. When both people approach a relationship with hidden intentions, even an embrace can become a disguise. They hold each other closely, but neither is truly holding the other with care.