FACES - Diploma Project

I met my portrait subjects on public transportation and noticed that I involuntarily observe the passengers closest to me, wondering who they are, what they feel, and what they are thinking at that moment.
At the beginning of the painting process, I became curious about why people have such an impact on me, to the point where   
I feel an inner urge to paint them.
Eventually, I found a theoretical explanation for this in the field of ethology, stating that for the majority of human history, through hundreds of thousands of years, we lived in small communities.
Consequently, our nervous system developed without sufficient time to adapt to the modern urban environment that has only existed for around 200 years.

As a result, it can be inherently stressful to travel close to strangers. In my portrait series, I consciously tried to alleviate the tension that arose within me.
While I was painting these portraits, I did not strive for mimesis or the exact representation of external features. Instead, I aimed to capture their current inner state, which manifested on their faces during our brief encounter.
Additionally, my imagination also nourished the painting. While I was painting, I associated images with the person, which I depicted visually.