ARTCHALLENGE #16 entry: Hanging by a thread

This week's ArtChallenge contest, hosted by @aksinya is a surreal drawing by @nature.sauvage, which is an interpretation of Frida Kahlo's painting "A few small nips." Both are confronting images.

The pain on the woman's face is the focal point of the drawing and the first thing I noticed is the wrinkles on the forehead which not only represents the bitter suffering from being "beheaded" and hung upside down but also the trace of time on this earth. Hair is often seen as a symbol of strength (Samson in the Bible lost his power after his hair was chopped off), so the woman's hair flowing upwards like a tree could be interpreted as source of her power. The fact that the hair is wrapped around the swords suggestions that it is actually trying to resist the sharp point from digging into the woman's body. Although it seems like the woman is barely surviving, "hanging by a thread", the colors used at the top of the image suggests there may be hope for a better future.

The words on the blue ribbon "it hurts a little" is a huge understatement but perhaps it also points to the fact that women are resilient and can endure much more pain then men. Although she feels like she is being "killed by life", there is a glimmer of hope expressed in the blue ribbon which reminds me of first prize winners getting a blue ribbon as a reward. The blue ribbon also could be a symbol of childhood because girls wore ribbons in their hair. Maybe it suggests that we should remember the more innocence and carefree days of childhood to push past the current pain. The two birds also give a hint that things may get better in the future.

I admit that I was going to skip this week's contest because I didn’t know what to make of the picture other than seeing pain but I want to support the wonderful Steeemian artists so I decided to take on the challenge and try to see some hope in it. Thanks for reading.