Ce N'Étais Pas Mon Reflet

Acrylic on canvas
90x130

There comes a moment when you realise you’ve been looking at yourself through other people’s eyes.

Without meaning to, I started measuring myself by things outside of me—expectations, success, admiration, and the need to be enough. Slowly, that version of me became louder than the one I recognised inside.

This painting explores the space between those two reflections: the one created by the outside world, and the one that quietly belongs to you.

The abstract forms are inspired by the delicate geometry of butterfly wings. They overlap without fully blending, representing different parts of ourselves learning to exist together. Sometimes growth isn’t about becoming someone new. Sometimes it’s about remembering who you were before you started looking for your worth in other people’s approval.

The colours were intentionally kept soft and grounded: dusty rose, warm limestone, muted clay, deep burgundy and faded blue. They bring a sense of calm, inviting the viewer to slow down and look beneath the surface.

Built with translucent layers of acrylic, dry-brushed textures and matte glazes, each layer remains visible beneath the next. Nothing is completely hidden, just as every experience becomes part of who we are.

Ce N’était Pas Mon Reflet is about letting go of external validation and learning to trust your own reflection again.