The lady in the hat (Eyes that Betray) Jul 2013

 

The Lady in the hat, Eyes that betray. By Victoriadeyemi

This is the third piece from the Black Sketchbook. It took me longer than expected to write about The lady in the hat.

From a young age I have admired people who had to ability to wear a smile whilst enduring unbearable physical or mental state. People who could do that had self control, they were graceful and I liked to imitate them. It was only until I grew older that I realised that eyes have the ability to convey the unsettling stories of the heart; stories that the mouth is forbidden from communicating. Suddenly I understood that lips may curve into a smile but eyes have the power to betray you and sell you out.

The lady in the hat is one of my favourite pieces from the Black Sketchbook because she is beautiful, her eyes are striking, her face is readable and the contents of her heart are written in her eyes. Her face seems to radiate warmth and a weird glow but at the same time her eyes are cold and her expression has lingering presence of deceit. Through her eyes, I can tell that something is wrong but I don’t know what it is. It is like she is making a restrained cry for help.  I find her situation compatible with today’s society; we humans have constructed a fake illusion of freedom, we tell ourselves that we are free to do anything within the law of the land. Yet some of us cannot freely do simple things like expressing ourselves.

But we are not to blame, we can’t tell everyone everything, no one likes an upset person and for all we know, smiling might be the only antidote for our troubles.