Witch Hunt is a figurative oil painting that explores the courage, resistance, and determination of women who stand against oppression and injustice.

I began this painting in 2019 after spending a lot of time watching the news and following the events happening in Venezuela and in other parts of the world. The images of women standing at the forefront of protests, defending their rights, their communities, and their voices deeply affected me. Their courage and determination remained in my mind and became the starting point for this work.

The Story Behind Witch Hunt

Although the inspiration came from those events, Witch Hunt is not a painting about Venezuela alone. It represents women everywhere who resist oppression, stand against injustice, and fight to protect what is important to them: their dignity, their freedom, and their land. The painting is a reflection on the strength that emerges when people come together in the face of difficult circumstances.

In the composition, many women appear throughout the depths of the painting. Some figures are more visible, while others seem to emerge from the atmosphere of the canvas. Together, they create a sense of collective energy and movement, showing a shared struggle rather than the story of a single person. Each figure contributes to the feeling of resistance and determination that runs through the work.

The Intuitive Process Behind the Painting

My paintings rarely begin with a detailed plan. I do not organise every element before starting, and I do not decide exactly what the final image will become. Instead, I allow the painting to develop naturally on the canvas, step by step, guided by intuition and feeling. The process is a continuous dialogue between myself and the work, where each layer of colour and each gesture suggests the next one.

Because of this approach, I often discover elements in my paintings that I was not consciously aware of while creating them. Sometimes, after the work is completed, I recognise figures, forms, or meanings that appeared naturally through the process. These discoveries become part of the relationship I have with the painting and reveal aspects of my own thoughts and emotions.

Discovering the Self-Portrait

This happened with Witch Hunt. After finishing the painting, I realised that the main figure in the foreground—the woman closest to the viewer—was actually a self-portrait. I had not intentionally decided to include myself in the composition. It appeared unconsciously through the act of painting. Looking back, I understood that my own feelings and personal response to the events had become part of the image.

For me, figurative painting is not only about representing what we see in reality. It is also a way of exploring the inner world: emotions, memories, fears, hopes, and personal experiences. Images from the outside world become transformed through my own perception and emerge on the canvas in a new form.

Between Reality and the Inner World

Witch Hunt became a meeting point between what I witnessed in the world and what I carried within myself. The painting does not simply document a historical moment; it explores the emotional truth behind resistance, courage, and the human desire for justice.

Through my work, I try to create a space where observation and imagination can coexist. Sometimes the meaning of a painting is not completely known at the beginning—it reveals itself gradually, through the process of creation itself. The final image becomes a reflection not only of the subject I wanted to explore, but also of the emotions, memories, and unconscious thoughts that emerge during the act of painting.

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