01. The Sports World & The Abrupt End
I come from a family where sports defined everything. My life was focused on one goal: to become a professional beach volleyball player, reach the top, and be on the court every single day. Sports were my only identity.
But two knee surgeries at a young age threw a wrench in those plans. From one day to the next, I had to quit competitive sports – a profound turning point that forced me to completely redefine my life.
02. The Premiere: First Self-Portraits on Canvas
As a result of months of self-reflection, I am presenting for the first time a strictly limited series of self-portraits on canvas. Each piece encapsulates experiences, travels, and an ongoing internal dialogue.
03. A Mind Full of Ideas & Banknote Art
Ever since I was little, I've painted and drawn. But the real issue was never *whether* I paint, but rather that my mind never stops racing. I have ideas for thousands of paintings all day long.
Since a large canvas takes days or weeks to complete, I needed a way to immediately capture and archive my thoughts. While traveling – including in Japan – I started drawing directly onto whatever was within reach: small formats, notes, and banknotes. This is how my first documented idea fragments on currency came to be.
04. Between Two Worlds
To this day, much of it feels surreal. Most of my friends still come from the world of sports. I still feel stuck in that world with a volleyball in hand, celebrating with pro players and looking from the outside in at a world I once fully belonged to.
This friction between my athletic past and my new reality as an artist is the breeding ground for my work. Who am I when sports are gone? I seek the answer to that in art.