Hopes and Dreams and Fantasy

"I'd like my exhibition to be an invitation to enter a world where things appear a little different than in reality. A dual world, where there is still unhappiness, where there's still sadness, and yet a place where you can always find hopes and dreams and fantasy."

My favorite image at the show, one I hope to own one day, is Carlota and Her Magic Birds, available on Saatchi Online. It would be hard for me to tell you why I like this image. I guess the swirls in the girl’s hair, the tones of color in the hair, the exotic birds, the Japanese kimono, and most of all the idea that birds can lift you up, the weight of your hair or whatever else grows heavy in your heart . . . All this resonated with me and appealed to me.

Just look at how the girl tilts her head determined to move on and carry the weight in her soul (this, of course, is all my interpretation), oblivious to the fact that the little birds are helping her move on and making something beautiful out of the weight of her sadness (her hair). Look at that little bird firmly placing her feet on her chest, and looking up at her, trying to tell her just that.

Carlota and Her Magic Birds is here on Saatchi Online.

Another one I really like grows out of a simple, playful idea: mismatched socks. Georgiana Chitac is a master of composition. She plays not just with the socks, but with the proportions, perspective, and elements that enter the frame as well as elements that are left out. Look at this plunging perspective, and see how she leaves it room to enter our space and our imagination. The socks closer to us grow a little larger but also taller, and that has a purpose. The socks may seem scattered but they’re not, really. Look how the gray one points to the chest of drawers, to the rightmost section of it that’s still in the frame. Look how the one with the snowflake directs our attention to the girl’s left foot, and from there up to the sock in her hand. Also see how there’s another sock, also white, pointing at the same foot from the right. Now look at the triangle they form and see how this triangle pulls the composition together, anchoring this sea of socks. The more you look at her work, the more you see. The leg of the chest of the dresser falls in just the right place, two thirds from the bottom but in more than a third from the right so as to create some dynamism (and sticking enough of its body into the picture) and create another triangle in the upper left section of the picture, where you see a tilted triangle between the leg of the dresser, the reddish sock and the sock in the girl’s hand. And, of course, I like the fact that there’s no head. We can focus on the socks :-) and enjoy a wonderful, simple yet spot-on composition.

Scattered is here on Saatchi Online.

Another one I like, for reasons similar to those in Scattered, is Little Fish Swimming on the Carpet. The composition is amazing, I think. And the dialogue that I take it inspired the photo is pretty cute:

“Mom, I get a little sad when I look at your drawing.”
“Why honey?”
“Because the little fish is going to die.”
“No it's not! You are going to save it.”
“I am!?!”

(lifted from Georgiana Chitac’s blog)

Discover more of Georgiana Chitac’s work on her blog.

As of September 2014, Georgiana Chitac has a children's book on Amazon. The story, by Adina Pasa, is in English. I hope many children in the US and elsewhere in the English-speaking world will get to enjoy Georgiana's designs.