A Slow Beat
慢半拍 [Sold]

“Just a pause for rest, not retreat.
为蓄力而暂停。”

oil on canvas
48x64cm (framed)

It had finally happened. After months of frantic discussions, postponed gatherings, and a tide of growing rumours, it came. With a metaphorical clang, the doors to freedom slammed shut: the lockdown.

At first, it was disorienting. Hours blurred into days, and days into weeks. All the plans we’d made…shelved.  All our motion…stilled.

Productivity gave way to restlessness. Silence crept into the corners of every room. We could no longer chase. All we could do…was stay.

And slowly, unexpectedly – our mind began to clear. Dreams and ideas that had long been buried surfaced. In the silence, we could finally hear our own heartbeat. Not one driven by urgency or survival – but the steady rhythm of something older, quieter. Desires long unspoken, questions we’d never had time to ask. A gentler version of ourselves, once hidden beneath obligation.

We remembered what it felt like to create without purpose. To feel without performance. To simply exist – and find meaning in the stillness.

The world had paused – but something far stronger returned. A soft clarity, a quiet courage. The resilience to begin again, slowly.

The strength it takes not to push forward – but to stay…to be…to breathe.

It wasn’t the end. It was just a pause for rest, not retreat.

Whimsicality is the gentle rebellion against the hustle of life. It is the freedom to pause, laugh at small things, notice the playful rhythms of life. It is a tribute to playfulness, childlike wonder, and the joy of stepping back to regain clarity.