Ari Gonzalez

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Ari Gonzalez

Soulful Nature
In 2020, more than 47 million Americans experienced some form of mental illness, yet the stigma towards this debilitating condition, which involves changes in emotion, thinking or behavior, or a combination of these, hasn’t diminished. As a designer, I am interested in creating work that has a positive influence on those who cope with mental illness as well as the world-at-large. Nature and the soul are intertwined. Think of how wind in the trees and ripples on water provoke a sense of freedom from within. Soulful Nature explores the visual representation of ethereal gifts like healing, peace, and serenity, and is a reminder of one’s capacity to flourish.

Ari Gonzalez

 

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My mind is like a flower, and sometimes the soil that sustains me dries out. The lack of sun causes my leaves to wither and I die a little with each memory. The water of acceptance showers down on me, I flourish back to life and appreciate my beauty.

Nature invokes a tie, an intertwinement with the soul. Between the space of green and blue flickers, there’s a glimmer that captures the eye, one of appreciation and compassion. A new version of ourselves emerges, a healing of the soul.

I rest my back on the ground below me. I sink and the green of the trees invades my vision. Holding onto my thoughts, guilt, and grief, I let them poison me. I need to let go. Release. The wind blows over, revealing its secrets, and I listen closely within.

Grief is a demanding, turbulent, and eye-opening process. I had to learn how to surrender to it. A bottomless ocean of thoughts, how things should have been, or something I should have said. I deny the truth, but it’s far too late for that now. I don’t have a choice.

I drown in the what-ifs, and the waves of remorse and suffering pull me under, and as much as I try to fight back, I know I have to feel the water slowly filling my lungs. To be free, I must accept my pain. Let the uncontrollable waves collide with my body.