Eyes Opened, 2026 by Jacqueline Rose

48" x 36" Acrylic on canvas. 
 
This painting captures the moment after deception, when awareness has already taken root and innocence begins to dissolve.  The figures stand in the time of choice, no longer sheltered by the seamless harmony that once surrounded them.   The bliss of wholeness and peace fades from the landscape. The message above their eyes speaks of the  confusion..  of what remains is a thinning of light, a damning tension in the air, and the weight of consequence settling into the body.  The work gestures toward the layered traditions surrounding the first woman and the second. In some Jewish teachings, the first woman exists beyond the familiar narrative, while the second is understood as Eve.  As the garden of delight recedes, exile becomes inevitable. The figures are still physically present within Eden, yet the space no longer holds them.