The Lotus's Time Begins with the Stem

The lotus (蓮) does not exist solely as a flower itself. The lotus is an entity that wholly embraces its stem, roots, and all its origins: the mud and the water. This painting captures the time of solitary waiting just before the splendid flower bursts into bloom.

The life energy flowing along the stem, the vitality rising from the mud, the stillness inside the unbloomed bud. Everything is being meticulously prepared, and it will soon bloom majestically. Through this painting, I sing of the time of waiting and silence.

Life is not always remembered only by the moment of the flower. We grow stronger little by little within the time of the stem, the quiet of the roots, and the chaos of the mud. The lotus's time begins with the stem. And it is because of that arduous time spent in the roots and stem that the flower finally comes into being.