Year: 2021

Description: “Ballast Dropped” is a symbolic exploration of personal liberation and the transformative potential of letting go. A hot air balloon, rendered in a delicate network of golden handwritten words, occupies the canvas like a vessel of dreams and aspirations. Each line forming the balloon’s structure is composed of text - ambitions, ideals, or perhaps the internal dialogue that gives shape to one’s journey. Suspended beneath the balloon is a basket, modest and contained, from which vivid red ballast sacks fall away. These weighted forms are visually heavy, in stark contrast to the upward grace of the balloon, emphasizing the tension between burden and elevation. The act of dropping ballast becomes a metaphor for release of fear, pressure, societal labels, or internalized limits which are necessary steps for ascent. The black background creates an infinite space, suggesting that altitude is limitless once we free ourselves from what holds us down. This work speaks to resilience, inner clarity, and the courage to get rid of ballast.