Yesterday Today Tomorrow

Highly commended

2025
acrylic, marker, pen
53 x 43 cm

Yesterday Today Tomorrow is my reflection on life after military service — the disorientation, the loss of structure, and the quiet pull to return to what once defined me. Service gave me clarity, purpose, and belonging. When that ended, I was left navigating space that felt unstructured and uncertain.

The layered forms in this work mirror that experience. Solid, deliberate shapes represent the discipline and identity I carried in uniform. Fragmented marks and interruptions speak to the challenge of redefining myself without rank or role. There are tensions within the composition — areas that feel anchored and others that drift — reflecting my own push and pull between moving forward and wanting to go back.

Part of me misses the camaraderie and shared mission. That desire is embedded in the weight of the paint. But this piece is also about growth. It acknowledges that I cannot return unchanged. Instead, I am learning to carry service differently — integrating who I was into who I am becoming.