Love Locks

2008-2010

Oil on Canvas, Ink on Paper and Mixed Media

www.moniqueart.com

 

 

In many places around the world, there is a practice for lovers, friends or family members to use a padlock as a symbol of commitment. It might be attached to a fence, a pole or metallic chain alongside a wall, on a structure in a public place or on a bridge and the keys are tossed away. This action begs a question. Can a relationship remain as constant and strong as a lock on a bridge?

 

I believe that love is the most powerful of all emotions and this exhibition celebrates that power. The padlock is marking that you were there with someone very special and marks a moment of connection.

 

People make promises and lock their lives together. It is this belief in the commitment and in the power of relationships that urges people to mark it with a symbol that is firm and solid, like the padlock. The commitment to love one another locks people at a point in their lives when their souls met on the same level.

 

Words spoken cannot be taken back. This reality of communication has impacted relationships since time immemorial. The spoken words “I love you” cannot be taken back, just as the keys tossed away cannot be recovered. The security of knowing the keys are unavailable and that the person can’t take the promise back may be the reason why this practice of attaching a padlock is practiced in many countries.