hidden echoes: what my inspiration tells about me

Sometimes I wonder: why do I actually choose certain sources of inspiration? Or better yet: do I even choose them, or do they choose me?

Applied vs. Free Work

In my applied work, I usually start from a clear story. There's always a reason, a concrete idea that I translate into an image.

But in my free work, it's completely different. There, I often begin with something that simply strikes me — a figure, an image, a small trigger — without knowing where it will lead. The story unfolds along the way, and only afterwards do I realize what I was actually trying to say.

Inspiration as a Mirror

Lately, I've noticed that my sources of inspiration often reveal more about myself than I initially realize. They expose tensions: between what matters to me and what frustrates me, between calm and struggle, between freedom and a sense of insecurity, between logic and feeling.

My inspiration often circles around opposites. Maybe because I feel them so strongly myself 🤪 I noticed that before with my Onslow-like Mickeys (which I write more about in an earlier blog post: how stories inspire and shape my work).

Zé Povinho and Doctor Spock

Recently, new opposites have emerged: Zé Povinho and Doctor Spock.

One throws you a cheeky and defiant toma!*, the other wishes you peacefully: "Live long and prosper."Peace and protest. Logic and folk wisdom.

It can't be a coincidence that these two found their way into my work. On some deeper level, they're saying something about me — and about my ongoing search for balance.

Two Masks of the Same Emotion

Perhaps Spock's peaceful Vulcan gesture resonates with my desire for calm and stability — especially after my burnout and several situations where power and unfairness played a role. Experiences like these made me restless and insecure, and made me crave safety all the more.

Zé Povinho, on the other hand, represents rebellion, mocking authority and refusing to bow. Perhaps he embodies my undercurrent of frustration and defiance. Together, they form almost two masks of the same emotion: on one side, the conscious wish to remain peaceful and dignified; on the other, the drive to resist what I find unfair.

Between Worlds

Spock is half-Vulcan, half-human, always an outsider between worlds — much like me, between Belgium and Portugal, between art and entrepreneurship, between my inner world and an outer world that often stirs unrest. His rationality is universal and logical; Zé Povinho's rationality is rooted in folk wisdom, clever and practical, yet always infused with humor and satire.

Calm versus rebellion: two sides of how I experience the world.

Lisbon as a Source of Distance and Inspiration

In Portugal, I feel this even more. Lisbon literally gives me distance from what so often caused stress in Belgium. There, I can breathe, start anew, and begin new personal work.

What I see and experience there naturally flows into my work. Like the sardinhas* or the andorinhas* flying everywhere — swallows that represent freedom, grace, and elegance. Sometimes they take on a surreal or humorous twist: an andorinha with a Spock head, or Zé Povinho mischievously holding a sardine between his teeth while throwing a playful toma-fist gesture.

An Intuitive Process

I don't plan this in advance. Figures, gestures, symbols, humor, absurdity — everything emerges intuitively. Only afterwards do I understand why they appeared: an echo of what lives inside me, of the contrasts and the balance I seek within myself. Perhaps that is exactly what my personal work is about!

* toma = take that!  * sardinha = sardine. * andorinha = swallow

P.S. The images in this post are sources of inspiration, details, and teasers; once the works are fully completed, I will show the results as well.