This piece features a bloom of moon jellyfish emerging from the dark, surrounding a girl’s partially lit face, caught somewhere between fear and wonder. A single jellyfish rests atop her head like a strange crown, binding her to the mysterious world she finds herself in. I focused heavily on the detail of the face, aiming to capture the emotion of that fragile in-between moment, curiosity tinged with uncertainty. The image of the jellyfish has followed me since I was young. I created a similar jellyfish hybrid years ago, and I’ve reimagined it every so often, almost like a quiet ritual. Each version reflects where I was emotionally at the time, growing, shifting, deepening.
To me, the jellyfish symbolizes the delicate tension between beauty and danger, fragility and power. They move with grace, yet sting with force. In this piece, they represent the unknown, the things we’re drawn to but also fear. They float from the darkness like thoughts rising from the unconscious, luminous but untouchable. The girl’s expression, caught between awe and unease, mirrors that duality. She’s not consumed by the unknown, but she’s not entirely safe from it either because she is almost one of them. The jellyfish on her head becomes a symbol of how we carry our questions, our dreams, our memories, soft and glowing, but capable of leaving marks.