Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Year: 2023
Size: 14 × 20 inches
Display: Floating art frame
Medium: Watercolor cutout, paint-marker outlines, and hand-painted glass
A married man sits with another woman wrapped around him, holding her body with one hand and money with the other. He spends his nights drinking, visiting clubs, cheating, lying, stealing, and chasing whatever satisfies him in the moment. When he returns home, he expects the life he abandoned for the night to continue as though nothing happened.
His unhappy wife smells the alcohol on his breath but pretends she does not. She drinks to numb herself and maintains the appearance of a happy marriage because acknowledging the truth would force everything to change. Their daughter does not need anyone to explain what is happening. Children recognize broken promises, tension, and absence long before adults believe they do.
The Smell of a Lie explores the false image of the perfect American family. From the outside, there may be a husband, wife, child, and home. Inside, there is betrayal, addiction, silence, and a child learning that love sometimes means pretending not to know the truth.
The woman clinging to the man represents the secret life he believes he can leave behind before walking through his front door. The money symbolizes how he treats affection, loyalty, and pleasure as things that can be purchased. His smile reflects the confidence of someone who believes every person around him exists to protect his comfort.
A lie does not only belong to the person telling it. It changes the people forced to live around it. His wife becomes responsible for preserving the illusion, while his daughter inherits a version of love built on distrust. The moment he is caught does not suddenly change who he is. It reveals who he has been all along. We are often most honest when the lies we created can no longer protect us.
Year: 2023
Size: 14 × 20 inches
Display: Floating art frame
Medium: Watercolor cutout, paint-marker outlines, and hand-painted glass
A married man sits with another woman wrapped around him, holding her body with one hand and money with the other. He spends his nights drinking, visiting clubs, cheating, lying, stealing, and chasing whatever satisfies him in the moment. When he returns home, he expects the life he abandoned for the night to continue as though nothing happened.
His unhappy wife smells the alcohol on his breath but pretends she does not. She drinks to numb herself and maintains the appearance of a happy marriage because acknowledging the truth would force everything to change. Their daughter does not need anyone to explain what is happening. Children recognize broken promises, tension, and absence long before adults believe they do.
The Smell of a Lie explores the false image of the perfect American family. From the outside, there may be a husband, wife, child, and home. Inside, there is betrayal, addiction, silence, and a child learning that love sometimes means pretending not to know the truth.
The woman clinging to the man represents the secret life he believes he can leave behind before walking through his front door. The money symbolizes how he treats affection, loyalty, and pleasure as things that can be purchased. His smile reflects the confidence of someone who believes every person around him exists to protect his comfort.
A lie does not only belong to the person telling it. It changes the people forced to live around it. His wife becomes responsible for preserving the illusion, while his daughter inherits a version of love built on distrust. The moment he is caught does not suddenly change who he is. It reveals who he has been all along. We are often most honest when the lies we created can no longer protect us.