Oil on canvas
24×30 inches
In this work, the mouth is isolated as a self-contained image field, its smile framing a row of teeth adorned with red heart-shaped brackets. The simplified contours and restrained palette draw attention to the symbolic intervention on the orthodontic wire, where decoration replaces utility. The motif of hearts introduces a playful yet pointed contrast between correction and ornament, adolescence and performed identity. By magnifying a fragment of the face, the painting treats the smile as both a surface and a signifier, encouraging reflection on beauty, self-presentation, and the constructed nature of charm.
Oil on canvas
24×30 inches
In this work, the mouth is isolated as a self-contained image field, its smile framing a row of teeth adorned with red heart-shaped brackets. The simplified contours and restrained palette draw attention to the symbolic intervention on the orthodontic wire, where decoration replaces utility. The motif of hearts introduces a playful yet pointed contrast between correction and ornament, adolescence and performed identity. By magnifying a fragment of the face, the painting treats the smile as both a surface and a signifier, encouraging reflection on beauty, self-presentation, and the constructed nature of charm.
