Volume 03: Under Pressure

Childhood snacks at a wine bar: ripe Concord grapes, a bite of chocolatey graham cracker, and just a swirl of a floral red.

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Raspberry jam on buttered toast, a drizzle of honey, and the last sip of hot cocoa. Mmm, dessert for breakfast.

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Girl balancing on the chair

Manshen Lo

Manshen Lo often draws scenes that look simple at first, until you notice the emotional weight sitting just beneath them.

This piece captures a kind of pressure many of us recognize. A girl balances on a chair that shouldn’t stay upright, yet she manages to stay steady. Petals fall from flowers that feel slightly out of place, like something fragile has wandered into an ordinary room and is trying to keep its shape.

The moment sits right on the edge. One small shift and everything could tip, but she stays with it. That instinctive effort feels familiar. It’s the work of holding yourself together while everything moves around you.

It might look like being stuck, but something is changing. Pressure doesn’t only push against us. Sometimes it helps things find their shape.

Explore Manshen’s work:

manshenlo.com

@manshenlo

Pressure builds in different ways. From outside forces to self-imposed demands, these tracks hold the tension long enough for release to mean something.

Curated by: 

Phil Bolton | @pbbolton

Taylor DeBoer | @taydeboer

Chris Sweeney | @cmswny

Listen on Spotify →