“There are a few moments in your life when you are truly and completely happy, and you remember to give thanks. Even as it happens you are nostalgic for the moment, you are tucking it away in your scrapbook”. If you look up the word “sehnsucht”, the quote pretty much sums it up.

For Filipino artist Aba Dalena, sehnsucht comes in many colors and forms. And if you examine her paintings closely, one might say that the swathes of paint are little prayers to save a fading memory or a precious promise. Historically, we’ve done much to stir and sustain our own nostalgia. We purchase memorabilia, we keep locks of hair, ticket stubs, birthday cards, and even seek the perfect artwork to remind us of a time or a person that has long gone but is very much alive in our thoughts. This is where Dalena puts greater emphasis on visual sensation rather than merely depicting objects.

In her paintings, the departure from reality is blatantly evident in the treatment of color and shapes. Theosophical in essence, there is a deeper spiritual truth in there that you discover through meditation, revelation, or some other state transcending normal human consciousness. This exploration of the mind thoroughly connects with her heart where she is in fact revelling in the sweetness of sehnsucht-- perhaps to eventually wash away secrets of past loves or to awaken from the dream where nostalgia has kept her captive for too long.