Caution Tape Around My Heart

This piece came from sitting with a feeling I couldn’t really resolve—something that kept looping in the background until it needed to be made into something physical. It was sparked by i hate u, i love u by Gnash, a song that lives in that uncomfortable space where love and resentment exist at the same time.

There’s a very specific kind of tension in that—wanting closeness while knowing distance might be healthier. Missing someone while also recognizing the damage. It’s not clean, it’s not logical, and it doesn’t resolve itself easily. That contradiction sat with me long enough that I needed to translate it visually.

The anatomical heart felt important. Not symbolic in a soft or romantic way, but real—something functional, something that keeps you alive whether your emotions are in order or not. Wrapping it in caution tape wasn’t about shutting it down or protecting it completely. It’s not a barrier, it’s a signal.

But the heart is still exposed. Still active. Still doing its job.

That’s the part I wanted to hold onto—how we don’t really get to turn feelings off just because we understand them. You can know something isn’t good for you and still feel pulled toward it. You can try to set boundaries and still carry the weight of what’s underneath them.

This piece sits in that space.
Not resolved. Not healed. Just aware.

It’s about emotional contradiction, self-awareness, and the quiet tension of knowing better while still feeling everything anyway.

8x10 Acrylic and Ink on Canvas