I continue to work on Nocturnal Bodies, moving through territory that doesn’t feel entirely unknown. It feels more like something that has always been there, somewhere at the edge of my work, but that I wasn’t ready to enter before.

These new paintings have become less about following an idea and more about allowing myself to stay in uncertainty.

Human figures emerge from darkness, while at other times they seem to carry the darkness within themselves. Parts of the body become heavy and defined, while others dissolve into stains, drips and unfinished lines. I’m increasingly interested in this moment when a figure is present, but only just.

With Nocturnal Body X and Nocturnal Body XI, I began with heavier marks and stronger contrasts. There was more intensity at the beginning — darker areas, more physical gestures, more certainty. But as the paintings developed, something shifted. Instead of adding more, I found myself removing, softening and allowing parts of the figures to disappear.

Nocturnal Body XII moved even further in that direction. The body feels quieter and more exposed, almost like a drawing that has temporarily settled onto the canvas. Some areas are barely there, while others — the dark face, the blue arm, the falling traces of paint — hold the figure together.

I think this is where the series is taking me now.

There is a constant negotiation between wanting to make a strong mark and wanting to leave something untouched. Between density and emptiness. Between a body that demands to be seen and one that is already disappearing.

Perhaps Nocturnal Bodies will continue as this kind of dance between lightness and heaviness. I don’t know yet which side will become stronger, and for now, I don’t really want to know.

I want to stay with that uncertainty a little longer.