Shining DESPAIR
Selma Leal
Spain

Brooch “Lady Musgrave”, 2017
Silver, stainless seel
Lost wax

Brooch “Lady Musgrave”, 2010-25
Silver, gold, enamel, stainless seel
100x80x30mm
Lost wax, enameled

« The desperation of corals shines before our eyes through their bleaching, » making coral bleaching a vivid representation of Shining Despair. This phenomenon, where corals expel the symbiotic algae living within their tissues, reveals a skeletal white form that is starkly beautiful yet tragically indicative of their distress. The term « Shining Despair » perfectly captures this contradiction—the radiant, almost ghostly glow of the bleached coral is, in reality, a desperate cry for help, a final, brilliant display before death.

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‘Repeat Prescription: 14mg’ embodies the quiet despair felt by those who rely on medication in order to sustain a healthy life.

Shining Despair – Jina Seo / USA-South Korea

My work reveals inner conflict and suffering by contrasting societal expectations with the personal turmoil I often experience.

Shining Despair – Marta Alonso / Spain

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Shining Despair – Henrike Altes – Germany

Out of the feeling of longing for warmth and the close relationship to a beloved person …

Shining Despair – Malene Kastalje / Denmark

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Shining Despair – Isabelle Busnel / France

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Shining Despair – Anna Talbot / Norway

The series ‘Pressed Flowers’ is inspired by my memories of my grandfather’s garden from my childhood.

Shining Despair – Donald Friedlich / USA

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Shining Despair – Minami Hiranuma / Japan

The motif of this work is my feelings when I picked up my grandmother’s bones.

Shining Despair – Wiebke Pandikow / Finland

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