Open your eyes

Open Your Eyes is a text work that uses a familiar instruction as a visual and psychological gesture. The sentence is direct and simple, yet it carries multiple tones—it can be read as helpful, impatient, caring, critical, or even humorous. This shifting tone is central to the work, as the meaning of the sentence changes depending on the viewer and the situation in which it is encountered.

In the context of the Say It Out Loud series, the work continues the exploration of language that usually exists in thought rather than speech. It is a sentence often felt internally—when something seems obvious, when something is being overlooked, or when reality is right in front of us but remains unnoticed. By placing the phrase into physical space, the work transforms a private reaction into a public presence.

The piece treats language as a form of action. The sentence does not describe something; it asks for something. It creates a small moment of awareness, making the viewer briefly conscious of their surroundings, their situation, and sometimes even themselves. In this way, the work operates less as a statement and more as a prompt.

Like the other works in the series, Open Your Eyes is both direct and open-ended. It is a short instruction, but it does not specify what exactly needs to be seen. That uncertainty allows the work to remain flexible, situational, and slightly playful—an instruction that is simple, but never completely resolved.

Open your eyes | Ink and acrylics on canvas | 57.5 x 45.5 inches | 2020-21