The Weight of Words
36 x 24 in | Mixed media diptych: acrylic and paper collage on wood, with handmade frame and brass corners
From The Conversation series

This diptych explores what happens after language leaves the mouth—but never quite leaves the body.

Paint is built up in dense, directional strokes, moving like breath, like currents, like thoughts repeating themselves. Blues dominate—cool, contemplative, heavy. The surface feels worked, almost pressed, as if each mark carries the residue of something said, overheard, or withheld.

Anchoring the lower panel are three figures, rendered from a collaborative fine art print by Reisha—my best friend and creative counterpart. Their faces emerge quietly, partially obscured, surrounded by motion they did not create alone. They listen. They witness. They absorb. The upper panel floats above like atmosphere—what lingers after the conversation ends.

As part of The Conversation series, this work centers exchange: between artists, between people, between intention and impact. Using Reisha’s print as a foundation, I layered, fractured, and rebuilt—allowing the collaboration to remain visible rather than seamless. The dialogue stays intact.

Wood provides both grounding and exposure. Its grain shows through, reminding us that words—once spoken—settle into us, shaping how we stand, how we respond, how we remember. The handmade frame with brass corners acts as both container and punctuation mark, holding the work steady while acknowledging its weight.

The Weight of Words is about language as force.
How it can carry us.
How it can bruise us.
How it stays—long after the sound fades.