Acrylics/pigment on watercolor paper. 50 by 60cm
A lone astronaut floats in silence, surrounded by clouds and an unfamiliar world. He became a symbol of the isolation many experienced when COVID-19 disrupted everyday life and made people feel like strangers within their own routines and realities. In his hands he holds a bouquet composed of symbolic forms: a faceless, distorted human figure representing exhaustion and the psychological weight of the pandemic, and the shape of the COVID virus itself. These elements reflect the struggle to hold onto fragments of the past while confronting an uncertain future. The painting captures a moment suspended between loss and adaptation, portraying humanity learning to exist and breathe within a transformed world.
Victoria Thuo, professionally known as Blaine 29, is a Kenyan visual artist and art educator celebrated for her dynamic work in painting, murals, and graffiti. Her artistic journey began at the age of 11, experimenting with crayons, watercolor, and colored pencils—an early exploration that sparked a lifelong passion for wet media.