Janna Afifa

She Lurks in These Woods

A chill fog creeps across a shallow creek as a figure crouches at the base of a large tree. Moss and wet dew hangs from the branches up high, as clouds and foliage combine to create the faint hint of a face creeping out from the mist...

“This work is centered around the question of "how do I paint my mother without painting her?" The image of a cool, dark, foggy forest came to mind, partly inspired by the stunning environments from the video game, Elden Ring. The themes around my works have focused on the complex mother-daughter relationship, tied up with themes of codependency, hurt, and love all the same. This work deals with the feelings of being haunted in your own mind, the spectre in this case being my own mother. ”