“Where the Hippo Dreams” follows a creature shaped by southern waters - a being that carries the weight of heat, mud, and river-breath in its skin.
In this painting, the hippo steps toward a world that does not belong to it: a landscape of mountains and open air, entered through an arch of vines heavy with grapes.
The crossing is quiet but meaningful. It reflects what it takes to enter a place where one’s presence is unexpected - a world built on other histories, other climates, other assumptions. The hippo carries its thick skin not only as biology, but as metaphor: protection, memory, resilience.
The work suggests that transformation begins within. A shift of courage, a soft decision, a dream that insists on movement. The gate is more than an architectural form; it is an invitation to reconsider where belonging begins and how far imagination can carry a body across worlds.