Esther Bruggink:
“ A few drops of watercolor on smooth polyester film —
water and pigment take their own course, forming stains.
It does not begin with an image, but with a given.
The resulting stains are like fate. The fatum, beyond our control.
Like the past, like a character, and like a disease when it is progressive.
In the most recent work from the series ‘Amor Fati’, a moth appeared — a small nocturnal insect that flies from darkness toward light and in many cultures symbolizes transformation.
In the spirit of Epictetus, I do not examine what I can control,
but how I relate to what already exists. Epictetus opens his Enchiridion with:
‘Some things are within our power, and others are not.’
It is essential to make that distinction, for suffering and inner unrest arise from the desire to change what lies beyond our control. Transformation, on the other hand, can emerge through loving acceptance of what is given.
As a metaphor for this life lesson, I try not to correct the stain,
but to approach it with attention and care—
so that the many possibilities it holds can fully unfold.”