Description

The figure’s distant, contemplative gaze conveys a sense of emptiness and potential,
evoking the concept of Tábula Rasa — a metaphor for a fresh start or a mind untainted
by past experiences, open to new possibilities. The absence of objects or distractions in
the space underscores the idea of a blank canvas, where every thought and choice is
renewed in the stillness of the moment.

Samuel Santos:
“I am haunted by reverential nostalgia for my childhood – a very personalized saudade or
dwelling in a Jungian puer aeternus. Aspects of this are memorialized hidden or exposed and
infused in all my current work, with the caveat that as Memory is never pure and forever tinged with
the narrative of regret, and thus viewed through the lens of loss, my work appears filled with
poignancy but is devoid of sentimentality. My process is therefore one of necropsy. Using
a classical canon as a starting point I am drawn especially to the art narratives of the
decaying tragedy of La Belle Epoque. This informs my current world view. Finding striking
resemblances, my work acts as a warning by tolling the bell of memory.”