Illuminate the World Art Series: Why I Spent a Year Chasing Light
- Jun 22
- 3 min read
There are moments in life when the world feels especially heavy.
We all know those seasons.
The headlines are loud.
The problems feel endless.
The future feels uncertain.
And if we're not careful, it becomes easy to believe that darkness is winning.
A few years ago, I found myself asking a simple question:
What if the most powerful thing we can do isn't focus on the darkness at all?
What if our role is to become more intentional about creating light?
That question became the seed for what would eventually grow into Illuminate the World—a year-long series of twelve large-scale paintings inspired by a simple but transformative belief:
The world changes when we choose to bring more light to it.
Not someday.
Not when circumstances improve.
Now.
Through our actions.
Through our creativity.
Through our humanity.
Through the way we show up for one another.
The Beginning of Illuminate the World Series
The series began with curiosity.
I became fascinated by the idea that every culture, every language, and every corner of the world has words that express something beautiful and uniquely human.
Words that don't always translate directly into English.
Words that hold wisdom.
Words that remind us who we are.
As I explored these ideas, I discovered concepts that felt deeply connected to the values that guide both my life and my artwork.
Love.
Wonder.
Joy.
Play.
Dreaming.
Resilience.
Compassion.
Connection.
Hope.
Each painting became an exploration of one of these universal human qualities. Each became its own visual conversation. Together, they became something much larger.
A reminder.
A call.
An invitation.
The Light We Carry and Why I Spent a Year Chasing Light
One of the greatest misconceptions about light is that it exists only in the absence of darkness.
But that isn't what I've experienced.
Some of the brightest people I know have endured tremendous hardship.
Some of the most compassionate people I've met have experienced profound loss.
Some of the most joyful people have every reason not to be.
Light isn't the denial of difficulty.
Light is what we choose despite it.
That realization became central to this series.
Every painting in my Illuminate the World Art Series acknowledges struggle while simultaneously pointing toward possibility. Not toxic positivity. Not pretending everything is fine.
But the radical belief that beauty, joy, and hope remain available to us—even in difficult seasons.
Especially in difficult seasons.
Why This Series Matters Now
Perhaps more than ever, we live in a world competing for our attention.
Fear sells.
Outrage spreads.
Division multiplies.
But so does kindness.
So does creativity.
So does love.
The challenge is that these things often move more quietly.
They require us to pay attention.
To look deeper.
To notice what others might miss.
As an artist, I believe part of my role is to help people pause long enough to see what is still beautiful.
To notice what is still possible.
To remember what connects us.
That is what Illuminate the World has always been about.
Not the paintings themselves.
The invitation they carry.
A Year of Becoming
Creating these twelve paintings changed me.
They challenged me to think differently about creativity, humanity, and my place in the world. They reminded me that art isn't simply decoration.
Art can be a conversation.
A bridge.
A catalyst.
A reminder.
A light.
The series eventually became my solo exhibition at the National Institutes of Health, where thousands of visitors encountered these works over the course of the exhibition.
But long before that happened, these paintings were quietly teaching me their lessons.
To choose wonder.
To choose joy.
To choose love.
To choose hope.
To choose light.
Again and again.
An Invitation
Today, I am reopening the vault.
Over the coming weeks, I'll be sharing the stories behind each painting in the Illuminate the World series—the inspiration, the meaning, the process, and the universal human quality each work explores.
Some of these pieces have never been shared in depth before.
Some have stories that surprised even me.
If you'd like to experience the full collection, I've created a private Collector's Vault where the entire series can be viewed.
Access is available to newsletter subscribers, or you can simply send me a message and I'll happily share the password.
Because this series was never meant to sit quietly on a wall.
It was created as an invitation.
To pause.
To reflect.
To reconnect.
And perhaps most importantly...
To remember that the light we're searching for has been within us all along.
With profound wonder,
Precious Burger
Contemporary Mixed Media Artist
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