PERMISSION TO DISTORT: A MANIFESTO
By Jessy Anzola
I. The Awakening
We live in a world that demands we be straight lines, exact numbers, and fixed molds. But life is not linear; it is vibration. This series is the document of my own transmutation. It is the permission I grant myself—and that I grant to you—to break the form, so that the soul may breathe through the cracks. Here, distortion is not chaos; it is the liberation of energy that no longer fits within the vessel of fear. Welcome to the beauty of what happens when we finally stop trying to fit in.
II. The Act of Liberation
To distort is to liberate. In these works, I grant myself—and the viewer—the sacred permission to break the form, to smudge the edges, and to let the raw frequency of emotion dictate the shape of reality. These are not just paintings; they are the visual echoes of a nervous system coming back to life. In every distorted face and layered silhouette, there is a truth that could only be found by letting go of the control.
III. From Density to Radiance
What happens when we stop trying to survive and start trying to radiate? Permission to Distort explores the transition from the density of logic to the transparency of intuition. Inspired by the sudden shift from the mechanical world to the visceral world, this collection captures the 'glitches' in our human identity. Each piece serves as a portal where the old carbon-based stories of struggle are dissolved into new, crystalline structures of expression. Through bold colors and instinctive strokes, I document the moment where the ego bends so the spirit can finally stand straight.
IV. Tuning the Frequency
Reality is a frequency. Most spend their lives trying to tune it to someone else’s station. This series is the sound of me finding my own signal. It is an invitation to see the beauty in the breakdown, the wisdom in the chaos, and the immense power of a heart that refuses to be measured.
V. A Declaration of Defiance
Permission to Distort is more than an aesthetic choice; it is a declaration of war against the fear of disturbing the Status Quo. For too long, we have been conditioned to believe that success requires a straight spine and a predictable path. We were taught that to be 'reliable' meant staying within the lines, even if those lines were slowly suffocating our essence.
To distort is to disrupt the illusion of order. It is an act of spiritual defiance that says: I am finally brave enough to be messy, because only in the mess can the truth truly breathe.
It is the visceral lack of fear of being 'too much,' 'too loud,' or 'too strange' for a world that is obsessed with symmetry and control. By distorting the image, I am reclaiming the right to be seen in all my complexity. I am no longer interested in being a 'perfect' gear in a dying machine; I am here to be the glitch that reminds you that you are alive. To distort is to disrupt the illusion of order. It is an act of spiritual defiance that says: I am finally brave enough to be messy, because only in the mess can the truth truly breathe.
LET'S REST - The Alchemical Release of the Burden
Acrylic / Oleo Pastel 80x60
This work reflects the moment that follows emotional overload — when thoughts, fears, and internal conflicts have run their course, and the body reaches a fragile stillness.
The distorted faces represent the many internal voices we carry: competing narratives, inherited fears, survival instincts, and the constant calculations of the mind. They overlap and collide, creating a psychological density that feels both chaotic and familiar. The vibrant reds and oranges intensify this sensation, echoing the heat of internal friction — the burn of overthinking, overfeeling, and overholding.
Yet at the center of this turbulence lies a shift. Rest here is not passive, nor is it an escape. It is a conscious release — the moment when resistance softens and the need to control dissolves. The stillness that emerges is delicate but sovereign, born not from avoidance but from confrontation.
Rather than depicting peace as silence, the work suggests that serenity is something earned. It is the quiet authority that arrives after facing what feels unbearable and choosing, finally, to let it fall away.
THE FOOL -
The Leap into Multidimensional Sovereignty
Acrylic / Ole Pastel 80x77
The Fool explores the sacred instant of surrender before a total frequency transformation. It is the portrait of a leap taken when instinct resonates louder than logic and movement begins without the need for guarantees.
Rather than portraying a naive innocence, the figure embodies the Quantum Multiplicity: a convergence of the many inner selves— the survivor, the lover, the seeker—standing at the edge of a new timeline. The layered silhouettes suggest that the leap is taken by a chorus of impulses, where fear remains present but is no longer the commander of the body.
The accompanying form represents the intuition that speaks through the spine and walks beside us even when reason hesitates. This work freezes the charged micro-second before departure, where trust is no longer a risk, but a deliberate act of self-creation.
Instead of depicting the fall or the landing, The Fool lingers in the charged instant before departure — where trust becomes an act of self-creation.
WEIGHTLESS GRAVITY -
The Threshold
Acrylic 70x55
This work captures the fragile space between longing and hesitation — the moment when the desire to move forward is met by the fear of leaving what is familiar.
Soft tones and open textures suggest possibility and expansion, while darker forms anchor the composition in uncertainty. The distorted birds symbolize both the instinct to rise and the weight of doubt that holds them close to the ground.
Rather than depicting flight itself, the painting lingers in the psychological threshold before it happens — where courage and fear coexist, and where transformation is decided quietly, from within.