Her First Love

Her First Love is a mixed media work on canvas exploring the foundational bond between father and daughter. The composition centers on a father holding his daughter’s hand within a circular frame outlined with hand-stitched cowries and beads. The background outside the circle is dark purple, forming a sacred boundary that isolates and elevates the moment into an intimate, symbolic space.

Inside the circle, layered profile heads of women in varying sizes, shapes, and tones represent different stages of a girl’s life, forming a visual continuum of growth, identity, and becoming. In the foreground, the joined hands of father and daughter express trust, protection, and emotional grounding at the earliest stage of life.

Cowries and beads on the father’s wrist are hand-stitched, symbolizing love, sacredness, family, and the sanctity of life. The work reflects the father as the child’s first emotional reference for love, shaping her understanding of care, security, and future relationships.