The denotation of this image is what I can see, which is a woman sitting in a bed of flowers and mud, so she is covered with mud herself. Unusually, the flowers is in the middle of a room which seems like a kitchen and there is light streaming in through the window on the right. In the background there are counters and kitchen furniture with plates and crockery.
Connotation
The connotation of this image could be the saying that "life is not a bed of roses", which means that there are ups as well as downs in life.
Enigma
This image is very enigmatic because it raises a lot of unanswered questions within the viewer, some examples being:
Why is she smothering herself in dirt?
Why does she look unhappy?
Why is there a small garden in a kitchen?
Does this house belong to the woman in the image?
Notion of Codes
Her facial features are that her eyes are drooping and she is frowning, the notion of codes for this facial expression is that the person is unhappy or angry or tired, etc. From my perspective it seems to me that the woman is unhappy and tired/fed up. She could be fed up of life, which links back to the connotation that "life is not a bed of roses".
She is kneeling down, the notion of codes for this could be her surrendering to something, or having to rest due to exhaustion. The fact that she's kneeling down in mud could mean that she wants to bury herself and hide away, which is the complete contrast of the lighting because the bright light streaming in should represent positivity, especially as it is focused on her. Her posture and facial expression contradicting the lighting could represent the dichotomy of life - there is always a mix of good and bad.
Her clothing is a very unattractive top, style and colour-wise, and she is only wearing underwear to cover her lower body. This could mean that she does not care how she looks and the drabness of her clothes could reflect on the drabness of her life.
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