“Although these worlds may seem strange
and unreachable, for me they are symbolic
representations of my hopes and dreams,
of people around me—their urges and
desires, of new revelations and repeating
disappointments, and of life in general.”
One of Petolas’ striking images, “10 Years of
Solitude”, presents Petolas as the prominent
subject, armoured with animal ribs as a chest
plate and a dinosaur skull for a helmet, it’s
spine trailing from her scalp down her back.
The exposed flesh of her nakedness contrasts
the empty industrial setting, while her healthy,
living form stands ironically protected by the
bones of an extinct species.
For Petolas, bones and skeletons connote
any idea or thing that once held importance
in our lives, but have since “died”. “Whether
it is some kind of emotion, friendship or
relationship that became some distant
memory, it still exists somewhere,” she
explains. Like the sporadic skeletons
haunting her images, the “ghosts” of our
past will always maintain influence, whether
in our concrete reality or the surreal planes
of our subconscious.
“It is always interesting for me to see, or
search for, what lies dormant under our
visibly presented human behaviour,” Petolas
discloses. Dedicating herself to tracking
the psychological and social aspects that
construct the self, Petolas also hopes to record
the effect that “endless soul searching” has
on the individual.
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