Life's Journey: A Senior Surreal Photo by Shayla Tonge (2017)

This piece tells the story of birth. The cracked egg represents the beginning of life. It is on a desert plane, a reflection of the isolated nature of life’s beginnings. The winding road is the journey through life, with all the bumps, both triumphs and trials. It is ridden by a single bike, the mechanism of movement. The bike represents our free will to take whichever route we like. We are each in control of our speed and direction. The falling cactus fish are the unpredictable. Events that occur through our lifetime. They are the things that shape us for the worse or the better.

Creating a surreal piece of art was very new to me. At first I was very paralyzed by this project, but as I gave myself the freedom to make something exceptionally absurd, I was much more capable of achieving something truly unique. I believe that I grew through the process because I let my creative process be gradual and non-linear. I came up with new ideas that I layered upon my existing work until I created the piece you see now.