The free bird (COVID-19 artwork no.2) 2020

Alfred Freddy Krupa made this watercolour painting, The free bird, during Covid-19. Just imagine Krupa in his studio mixing those browns, blacks, and whites into watery washes, pushing the paint around to create a layered world of floating birds and ambiguous spaces. The painting feels like a response to the world being literally and figuratively ‘caged.’ It feels as though the birds are connected by a strange web—or are they escaping it? It looks like the artist is thinking through his feelings about the pandemic: the darkness, the confusion, and, above all, the desire for freedom. Then that one red bird, a pop of colour in an otherwise muted palette, appears to be breaking away, a little beacon of hope! Painting is a place of inquiry for the artist and the viewer. It embraces uncertainty and welcomes multiple interpretations.