One by One is a creative project of poems and accompanying watercolour landscapes that together tell stories of longing, displacement and search for beauty and belonging.

Inspired by living between two cultures, environments, countries, the project is centred around physical and emotional journeys evoked by landscapes and memories relating to them. The project’s name One by One refers to making a painting and in the process, creating a space to imagine, to remember and to feel. Central to the process is a desire to stay open to experience even in the time of distressing socio-political events and climate emergency. The 20 x 20 cm watercolour paintings were painted as a daily practice during the summer months of 2025 and they are a diary-like record of places I spent time in. The poems and the paintings belong to a larger body of work.

A selection of the work was presented in a live performance at Samsung Showroom, Kings Cross on 18th September 2025. The performance was part of a Camden artists’ networking event.

An online performative exhibition of paintings from the One by One body of work was posted on my social media account preceding the live performance. A single word relating to the paintings accompanied each post. These can be seen below and on the @heinimariaking Instagram account.