- Emmanuel Akolo
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- What I Hold Back!
What I Hold Back! (2026)Acrylic painting by Emmanuel Akolo
40.64 x 50.8 x 1.27cm (unframed) / 40.64 x 50.8cm (actual image size)
£365.35
Original artwork description
I created What I Hold Back! as an intimate study of the internal boundaries we maintain to protect our emotional well-being. The composition is a tight, visceral close-up of a face partially obscured by hands, focusing on the tension between what is expressed and what is deliberately suppressed. In this piece, the vibrant, electric blue of the fingernails acts as a sharp contrast to the warm, high-contrast ochres and deep mahoganies of the skin—symbolizing the small, bright flashes of our identity that remain visible even when we are shielding our deeper vulnerabilities.
Through this work, I explore the "psychological architecture" of silence and the quiet strength required to keep certain truths for oneself. The closed eye suggests a moment of profound internal reflection or a refusal to engage with an overwhelming external reality. I aimed to capture the dignity in this guardedness, celebrating the agency of an individual who chooses exactly how much of their soul to reveal to the world. What I Hold Back! is a tribute to the resilient spirit that finds sanctuary in the unspoken, honoring the sacred space of our private thoughts.
Materials used:
Acrylic On Canvas
Details:
- Acrylic painting on Canvas
- One of a kind artwork
- Size: 40.64 x 50.8 x 1.27cm (unframed) / 40.64 x 50.8cm (actual image size)
- Signed certificate of authenticity
- Style: Expressive and gestural
- Subject: Abstract and non-figurative
Tags:
#hand#african art#pray#pushing through#cope#visceral figuratio#emotional shield#radical vulnerability#emotional boundary
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Original artwork description
I created What I Hold Back! as an intimate study of the internal boundaries we maintain to protect our emotional well-being. The composition is a tight, visceral close-up of a face partially obscured by hands, focusing on the tension between what is expressed and what is deliberately suppressed. In this piece, the vibrant, electric blue of the fingernails acts as a sharp contrast to the warm, high-contrast ochres and deep mahoganies of the skin—symbolizing the small, bright flashes of our identity that remain visible even when we are shielding our deeper vulnerabilities.
Through this work, I explore the "psychological architecture" of silence and the quiet strength required to keep certain truths for oneself. The closed eye suggests a moment of profound internal reflection or a refusal to engage with an overwhelming external reality. I aimed to capture the dignity in this guardedness, celebrating the agency of an individual who chooses exactly how much of their soul to reveal to the world. What I Hold Back! is a tribute to the resilient spirit that finds sanctuary in the unspoken, honoring the sacred space of our private thoughts.
Materials used:
Acrylic On Canvas
Details:
- Acrylic painting on Canvas
- One of a kind artwork
- Size: 40.64 x 50.8 x 1.27cm (unframed) / 40.64 x 50.8cm (actual image size)
- Signed certificate of authenticity
- Style: Expressive and gestural
- Subject: Abstract and non-figurative
Tags:
#hand#african art#pray#pushing through#cope#visceral figuratio#emotional shield#radical vulnerability#emotional boundary