World Where You Live (Do you climb into space?) by Olympia Zavros

This painting is a still moment in the ongoing collage of my life: a self-portrait framed by the things I love and the space I call mine.

Set against my bedroom wall, the painting becomes a kind of personal gallery. It’s filled with fragments: art, music, Formula 1, astrophysics, pop culture, and reflections. The shiny Koons balloon dog reflects back at the viewer, and in the chrome lamp you can just make out the silhouette of my dad taking the photo I used as reference.

Like many teenagers, my bedroom is my sanctuary. It changes constantly as my interests shift. This painting holds one version of me – for now. It’s about the tension between who we are, who we want to be, and how we’re seen by others. As Robert A. Heinlein once wrote, “Specialisation is for ants.” This is a portrait of everything I’m still becoming.