Stop

Overall Runner-up of the CAA Artist of the Year Award 2026. 

The abstract landscape is a signal to return to nature. The black stripes represent the chaos and overwhelming pressure created by consumer culture. They interrupt the landscape and create a sense of restriction, confusion, and disorder. They symbolise the way consumerism can dominate our surroundings and interfere with our connection to nature and to ourselves.

The artwork questions the relationship between wanting, buying, and identity. We often purchase things to feel happier, more successful, attractive, or accepted. However, this satisfaction is often temporary, leaving us wanting something new. This creates a continuous cycle of desire and consumption that can be difficult to escape. We have to seriously STOP and reflect if it’s worth it.

Through the combination of the abstract landscape and disruptive black stripes, I wanted to create a visual tension between nature and consumerism, calm and chaos, and simplicity and excess. The work encourages the viewer to pause and consider how much we consume, why we consume, and what impact this constant consumption has on both ourselves and the natural world. The white block symbolises a closing window.

Ultimately, the artwork is a reflection on the possibility of stepping away from the noise of consumer culture and reconnecting with something more natural, meaningful, and lasting.