In my latest collage, Unbroken Love, I explore a deeply personal narrative intertwined with universal themes of heartbreak and resilience. Inspired by my daughter’s journey through her first love and the emotional weight of her first breakup, this artwork reflects the intensity of youthful emotions—the overwhelming highs of falling in love and the devastating lows of losing it. But this piece goes beyond just a single story; it taps into something much larger that we see around us every day.
We live in a time where people, young and old, are grappling with disappointments. From relationships to career setbacks, or unmet expectations in life, many of us experience moments that leave us feeling broken. We often witness individuals becoming consumed by these moments, believing that a single failure or heartbreak defines their entire worth. The fragility of the human heart, when exposed to disappointment, becomes a recurring motif in today’s world.
But Unbroken Love carries a message of strength. Through the layers of textures, colors, and materials in this mixed-media piece, I wanted to symbolize the journey from heartbreak to healing. Just like the intricate elements of the collage itself, which are torn but pieced back together in a new form, the heart too has the capacity to heal, mend, and emerge even more resilient. Yes, love and life can sometimes hurt, and disappointments may leave us feeling fractured. Yet, these experiences offer lessons that strengthen us, teach us empathy, and ultimately remind us that no matter how difficult things seem, nothing can truly break the heart.
The process of creating Unbroken Love was both cathartic and empowering. I used various recycled materials, from fragments of fashion magazines to torn pages of old books, symbolizing the remnants of a love that once was. But through careful reconstruction, these pieces form a new whole—a reminder that love, even after it is shattered, remains unbroken at its core. There is always beauty to be found in the pieces, in the mending, and in the process of becoming whole once again.
With Unbroken Love, I hope to inspire viewers to embrace the strength that comes from disappointment. Love, like the human spirit, is resilient. Though it may bend, crack, or even shatter, it will never break entirely. Through patience, self-compassion, and time, we all have the capacity to rebuild and find beauty in the fragments of our experiences.