‘Regardless of how often I sit by the river, I feel a sense of wonder each time. Observing the moving water and hearing its enchanting sound makes time fade away, leading me into a profound state of meditation. This flow resembles when I grasp a paintbrush and focus on a blank canvas; my hand starts to glide, and patterns emerge. Although it appears I’m directing every stroke, I suspect that the brush and the creation are the ones directing my movements. I yield to the journey, and just like the river generates its alluring sound, my paintbrush crafts a captivating moment. The deeper I engage, the more I wish to remain.

In the middle of the river I look uphill and see all the water moving towards me, then it all changes and looking downhill all that water is flowing away. It makes me think of the future approaching me and becoming my past as it passes me. Both are fascinating experiences from my present position. As I am painting I flip the canvas continuously and at the end there is a piece that flows in both ways. It all depends how you want to look at it, or when. Black and White River Series wants your imagination to flow freely, infinitely.

This series was my first body of work of Dots and Lines World. I started and finished it in isolation in the middle of nature while staying in Colombia because of the first long term Covid-19 quarantine. In the midst of that world of uncertainty that pushed our mental health to unimaginable limits, my hope was to create a positive headspace reminding others of how we as individuals are all connected with everyone and everything.’

-Pipe Yanguas