YOU SAY GO, SO I STAYED

While traveling solo on my motorbike through the raw, untamed landscapes of Sumbawa, I found myself captivated by the endless pristine beaches and untouched wilderness. Yet, my mind was far from free—constantly circling back to the man I had left behind.

It wasn’t just the journey; it was a choice. He had said, “GO, if you must,” and I had gone. But as the days passed, surrounded by nothing but nature’s vastness, I realized I wasn’t chasing freedom—I was confronting what it meant to stay. Armed with Indian ink, red fluidity, and graphite, I poured my thoughts into a 200-page notebook, the drawings and shapes mirroring the push and pull of leaving versus belonging, of finding connection in freedom.

Today, those motifs have evolved. They now live on stone paper, watercolor paper, baking parchment, and digital canvases—transformed, yet deeply rooted in that decision.

The series, titled YOU SAY GO, SO I STAYED, reflects the quiet realization that sometimes staying—choosing love and connection over the allure of escape—can be the most courageous and fulfilling path one can take.

 

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