Lately, I have been thinking about how much of our lives is shaped by the stories we tell ourselves. Not necessarily the stories that are true, but the stories we have repeated so many times that we no longer question them. Perception is a curious thing. It quietly influences the way we move through the world, the opportunities we notice, the risks we take, and the value we assign to ourselves. Over time, certain beliefs can become so familiar that they feel like facts, even

There is a way of looking at art that has nothing to do with style, technique, or even meaning in the usual sense. It has more to do with attention. With noticing what sits underneath the surface of a period of time, and how certain images, forms, or gestures begin to carry that weight without announcing it. Art can feel like an x-ray. Not of the visible world, but of what holds it together from within. If you look back, this becomes clearer. During the Renaissance, there was