These photos are part of a project called Choosing Life. They were taken during a personal retreat at RAZA in Bulgaria.

They are inspired by Pablo Picasso’s famous 1937 painting Guernica, particularly a specific detail: the bull goring the horse from beneath. The bull’s head is primarily formed by the horse’s front leg, with its knee on the ground. The kneecap shapes the bull’s nose, while a horn appears embedded in the horse’s breast.

Guernica was created in response to the bombing of the Spanish town of Guernica on April 23, 1937, when the Nazi air force, acting on behalf of the Spanish Nationalist faction, carried out a devastating aerial attack on the civilian population. The event sparked global outrage as one of the first military assaults targeting a defenseless town.

In my interpretation, the bull represents the masculine energy of war and the fleeting nature of life in the face of death. During the retreat, I explored my personal journey with death, the concept of impermanence, and my decision—as a woman—to embrace creation and choose life.