“We all grew up and experienced varying degrees trauma, disappointment, hell, hard stuff. We armoured up and at some point that armour no longer serves us. The weight of the armour is too heavy and it’s not protecting you, it’s keeping you from being seen and known by others.

This is the developmental milestone of midlife. This is when the universe comes down, puts her hands on your shoulders, pulls you close and whispers in your ear ⁃ I’m not fucking around, you’re halfway to dead. The armour is keeping you from going into the gifts I’m giving you. That is not without penalty. Time is up.

This is what you see happen to people in midlife. And it’s not a crisis. It’s a slow, brutal unravelling.”
Brene Brown

To take off all the pieces of my personal armour and rediscover my true self I had to define everything, that through all these years I’ve been armouring against. One by one. Everything that would keep me disconnected from the people I love, from the world I live in, from my career, from the happiness, from myself.

Unveil and paint it out.

And yes, it is a difficult and very emotional process indeed. What you can see on this exhibition is just a small part of the disconnections I’ve faced during this journey. There’re many more waiting for me to find the courage or/and the visual language to paint them. But with every single painting I could hear the crack of a piece of armour falling. And with every single painting I could feel that I’m getting closer to the profound connection we all crave. Connecting ourselves with the universe.

Thank you for joining me on this artistic and personal journey.

Daria Andrews