9 OUT OF 10 An intense abstract painted during medication withdrawal, 9 OUT OF 10 blends shifting colour and motion to mirror mental fog, instability and the struggle to regain clarity.

9 OUT OF 10 is an abstract exploration of the disorientation and mental turbulence experienced during drug withdrawal. Created in the aftermath of a hospital stay where regular medications were suddenly unavailable, the work captures the slow unravelling of clarity—the creeping brain‑fuzz, the confusion, and the sense of slipping out of sync with one’s own thoughts.

Using a palette knife, colour is dragged, blended and fractured across the canvas in continuous motion. There is no single point for the eye to settle; instead, the surface remains in constant flux, mirroring the mind’s inability to find stability under stress. The layered strokes and shifting tones evoke a psyche stretched thin, moving toward a breaking point yet still searching for equilibrium.

The result is a raw, expressive painting that visualises the internal struggle of withdrawal—its instability, its pressure, and the fragile resilience required to endure it.

Synthetic polymer on stretched canvas 50.5cm W × 61cm H × 3.8cm D (unframed)