36in x 36in x1.5in, Painted edges, ready to hang.
Acrylic on canvas
From the series Under the Surface
This piece explores the contradiction between the modern workplace’s celebration of adaptability and its simultaneous discomfort with authentic transformation. Inspired by the corporate phrase “growth mindset,” the fish wears an expression of quiet dismay, caught between evolution and performance.
Like many corporate ideals, the concept initially appears empowering: be curious, be flexible, embrace change. But beneath the surface lies a more complicated reality. Growth is often encouraged only when it remains convenient, polished, and non-threatening to existing hierarchies.
The fish becomes a symbol of emotional adaptation within controlled environments, where individuals are asked to continuously evolve while subtly being shaped toward conformity. Its expression reflects the exhaustion of trying to become “better” while navigating invisible expectations about tone, leadership, likability, and belonging.
Within the broader series Under the Surface, the work examines corporate survival traits as forms of psychological evolution — the ways people mutate, mask, defend, and reshape themselves in response to modern workplace ecosystems.
36in x 36in x1.5in, Painted edges, ready to hang.
Acrylic on canvas
From the series Under the Surface
This piece explores the contradiction between the modern workplace’s celebration of adaptability and its simultaneous discomfort with authentic transformation. Inspired by the corporate phrase “growth mindset,” the fish wears an expression of quiet dismay, caught between evolution and performance.
Like many corporate ideals, the concept initially appears empowering: be curious, be flexible, embrace change. But beneath the surface lies a more complicated reality. Growth is often encouraged only when it remains convenient, polished, and non-threatening to existing hierarchies.
The fish becomes a symbol of emotional adaptation within controlled environments, where individuals are asked to continuously evolve while subtly being shaped toward conformity. Its expression reflects the exhaustion of trying to become “better” while navigating invisible expectations about tone, leadership, likability, and belonging.
Within the broader series Under the Surface, the work examines corporate survival traits as forms of psychological evolution — the ways people mutate, mask, defend, and reshape themselves in response to modern workplace ecosystems.
