“Every year I create an abstract world map. Over the years it has become more than a tradition, like a way to check in with myself. These abstract world maps always teach me something. And this year, something in me needed to go deeper. The painting asked more of me. That’s where the title “Deep World” comes from, and it’s not just a reflection of the painting’s visual depth but a mindset.
Life on the surface can feel overwhelming. It’s easy to get caught in the noise, the pressure, the little things that pull us in every direction. This painting is a reminder to explore the world around you but also the one within you. Developing the awareness to question your first thoughts and the patience to let a deeper truth rise to the surface.
It’s a discipline to look beyond the immediate, but when you train yourself to zoom out emotionally, mentally, spiritually you start to see how much of what once felt overwhelming was just noise. You start to see what actually matters. You zoom out. And suddenly, all the stuff that felt huge…feels small. Almost microscopic.
When you change the way you look, the world changes with you. This is the kind of mindset that shapes the way I paint and the way I live.
Now that the painting is complete, I see more clearly what it taught me. It’s become another timestamp, and like every world map I’ve made before, it has changed how I see this one. In the end, it’s not just about creating a painting – it’s about expanding how we see.”
– MIKAEL B.