Nest

23.6" x 23.6"/60 x 60cm

Oil on aluminium panel

2022

SOLD

‘Nest’ is about gratitude for our beautiful home planet. In this piece, Ayda is The Maiden, with a halo of flowers. These are hydrangea blossoms which, amongst others things, represent gratitude. Unlike most representations of The Maiden, however, these blossoms are fading and turning brown, to reflect our loss of respect and gratitude for nature. She holds out her hands, but this is an ambivalent gesture: is it a blessing or, a shrug of despair? Ayda’s dress is made of intertwined ivy, and nestled inside is an empty nest, which represents our home and our roots at the very centre of the natural world. This nest is empty and sits abandoned in a ruined tree trunk. On the bottom of the scene are dead and dried hydrangea flowers, to represent the complete withering of gratitude. Nestled in one group of dead flowers is a dead bird, representing the loss of biodiversity we are so callously ignoring. On the other side are three eggs, which represent hope, rebirth, and the cycle of life. One is empty. Two remain. Our last hope. But with their parent dead and the nest far away, who will care for them?