Ponder

This painting reimagines Narcissus by Caravaggio as a self-portrait in which I paint my own reflection in a pond. While the original myth of Narcissus warns against the dangers of self-obsession, my interpretation both carries and gently contradicts that warning.
It is not my reflection that I fall in love with, but my unfinished potential. By painting my own image, I actively construct my identity rather than passively admiring it. The reflection stares directly at the viewer, who represents myself, closing a symbolic circle of time: the past is the figure facing away, the present is the reflection in the water, and the future is embodied by the viewer.
In the original myth, Narcissus transforms into a daffodil. In my version, I become an aster, my birth flower.