Anpu
2025.
Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: L50cm xW25cm
This piece is titled ANPU, named after the ancient Egyptian deity and a pose in kemetic yoga, physically it It is said to open the cervical vertebrae, which can help with neck mobility. Symbolically kneeling represents yielding the ego, and the hand on the heart symbolises pure thoughts.
There is anxiety in that question. A quiet ache. The fear that I have not done enough. That I am not enough.
I have made this an ideal state for myself. A place I return to when the noise of the world grows too loud. I ask myself—have I done enough good to get into heaven. Have I lived well. Have I honoured my time on earth.
But in painting this figure I found a kind of peace. Not certainty, but presence. A moment of stillness where the heart is held gently and the ego bows.
Esther Akello 