cuts in life

In the series Cuts in Life, Lara reflects on personal life stories. These are not easy stories.

Often they involve pivotal moments that drastically changed someone’s life. Such heavy experiences are transformative, you adapt, and they leave a deep impact. Yet, many don’t fully realize what these changes truly mean.

This lack of understanding is often reinforced by the taboos that still surround certain topics, like mental illness and depression.

The use of relief-linocutting in this series is a deliberate choice of material. Once a part of the material is cut away, it cannot be restored, you must continue working with what remains. It either fits, or it doesn’t.

The pictures tell the stories in black and white, which creates not only high contrast on paper but also how the story is told now and before. Which is often not so simple and with a whole lots of shades of grey.

Willem
Linoleum on paper (21x29,7cm)

This series portrays the life of my favorite uncle in five episodes. A unique and artistic individual. He also grappled with mental health issues. His presence during my childhood profoundly impacted our family, bringing both positive and negative influences. By using the linoleum cut technique, high contrast was created in the prints. Symbolizing the complex interplay betweenhumanity and the inner struggleshe faced.