Manipulation

As the third painting in this series, “Manipulation” examines the unseen forces that shape how we perceive truth, morality, and one another. While “Protest” explores collective unrest and “Haunted Hopeful” turns inward to the personal journey of identity, “Manipulation” looks at the space in between, where external influence alters internal belief.

In polarized societies, manipulation is rarely obvious. It seeps in quietly through media, institutions, traditions, and even our own emotional needs. It reinforces what we already believe, comforts our biases, and blurs the line between fact and feeling. At times, it masquerades as certainty, making us mistake conviction for clarity.

The central figure in “Manipulation” is blinded, her eyes obscured by an abstract red form symbolizing the power of personal prejudice. This self-imposed blindness makes her more vulnerable to the surrounding web of deception and control. She is both ensnared by external manipulation and complicit through her own internal bias. The layered textures and distorted forms mirror how perception fractures when filtered through fear, ego, and inherited belief.

This painting asks how much of our worldview is authentically ours and how much has been molded by those who benefit from our division. Only by recognizing both the external and internal forces that distort our vision can we begin to reclaim agency over our thoughts and move toward a more truthful, unified understanding of the world around us.