Hydrangea Grove 

Soey Milk’s painting 'Hydrangea Grove' presents a figure in a garden, rendered with expressive brushstrokes and a palette that balances the vibrancy with muted tones. The sitter's gaze meets ours, inviting a dialogue between subject and viewer. Structurally, the painting melds portraiture with elements of still life, disrupting traditional categorical boundaries within art. The figure is adorned in what appears to be a deconstructed kimono, challenging conventional presentations of cultural attire. Milk uses the semiotics of dress to destabilize fixed meanings, reflecting on the fluidity of identity. The formal garden backdrop serves as more than mere scenery; it intertwines with the subject. Milk uses colour and line to engage with the deconstruction and reconstruction, and the painting can be perceived as an engagement with post-structuralist thought, resisting closure, and embracing the plurality of meaning.