Choking Remorse: A Junior Conceptual Project by Anna Wang (2014)

The concept of this piece is based off the feeling of guilt through parental conflict, though my angle is the guilt parents experience as their child grows up with opportunities lost. The person drowning represents both remorseful parents, who feel as though they have not let their children experience all that they could have, or that they robbed their childhood in some way, and the children who drown under the weight of not being able to live a full life to some extent. The figures dancing above the water represent the adventures and learning experiences of life itself, slightly more tangible or visual expressions of the chances lost. These two images put together represents what I imagine happens in one's mind as he or she drowns. The person reflects on the opportunities that passed him or her by throughout his or her life.

The dancing figures were sketched in a rough charcoal frame and then painted with different colours of water colours. The charcoal is used to suggest the darker elements outlining the beautiful and fun experiences, for they were never enjoyed by the drowning person. The water colour was used as the paint medium, in place of acrylic, for example, to display the fragile, transparent nature of the figures; they give the viewer the feeling that they could disappear and waste away at any moment.