Year of the Dragon – Symbolism and Transformation
Illustration dedicated to the Chinese New Year 2025.
The zodiac snake is associated with wisdom, intuition, and transformation; in my interpretation, I chose to give special emphasis to this last meaning. Alongside the snake itself, I added other symbolic elements that recall transformation: butterflies, a chrysalis, and the lotus flower.
The woman, revealing her own nudity, is also an important symbol of transformation for me.
True evolution is not about becoming something else, but about returning to the “self”, often lost beneath masks and other people’s expectations. Like the caterpillar becoming a butterfly, transformation is not a change in essence, but the fulfillment of what we have always been in potential. Nudity represents this truth: the authentic essence, stripped of every superstructure.
