Acrylic on canvas, 80 × 60 cm

 

This painting is a tribute to my mother, who survived the challenges of raising children in Germany while my father worked long hours. As an orphan, she lacked guidance in parenting and often felt adrift, navigating deep waters without a map. I chose to depict her immersed in water — both a symbol of struggle and of resilience.

 

Though she had no parents to guide her, the community she grew up in became a source of strength, shaping who she became and what she passed down to us. The red tones hold both vulnerability and vitality, while the flowing water symbolises ancestral knowledge that continues to move through generations. The work honours maternal resilience and the truth that wisdom, once given, never disappears — it ripples forward, shaping those who come after.