"Please" by PQHAÜS
(Acrylic on canvas / 24x24 inches / 2023)
The artwork titled ‘Please’ got its title from my realization of how the intention and meaning behind the word ‘Please’ can vary significantly depending on the context. For instance, a person in a suicidal crisis might plead, “Please let me end my life”, while their loved ones desperately implore them, saying, “Please stay with us”.
I wanted to depict a scene that portrays a complicated dilemma between a person who desires to die and another who cannot bear to let them go. In the painting, the man on the left chooses to burn himself with the flames, even though he has the option to extinguish the fire that slowly kills him. Meanwhile, the individual on the right pours water, trying to save his life although that’s completely the opposite of what he wants. He wears a box on his head not out of choice but out of necessity, concealing his own troubles to help the other person. To him, the weight of his personal problem pales in comparison to the significance of losing the person beside him.
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