The mirror is an object filled with symbolism: it reflects, duplicates, and projects the image of the one who gazes into it. However, in I Healed Myself with Freedom, its surface goes beyond mere reproduction, imposing a transformative assertion. The inscription establishes a dual movement – confessional and political. On one hand, the phrase can be read as a testimony of the artist's personal journey, where she found in art and the right to expression a path to emancipation. On the other, the healing invoked is not limited to the individual, but signals a collective process of liberation, where art acts as an instrument of subjective and social reconstruction.

The use of the word “freedom” resonates in a broader context, linked to debates about identity, autonomy, and belonging. Instead of restricting the meaning of freedom, the work leaves that interpretation open, allowing each viewer to identify and recognize themselves in this healing process. It is a subjective experience that can be appropriated by anyone who confronts it.

By transposing the language of graffiti to an exhibition space, Panmela pushes the boundaries between the city and the institutional circuit. Graffiti – historically relegated to clandestinity – becomes visible and legitimized, but retains its original impact. This shift creates a conceptual friction: while the institutional environment frames the work, the presence of graffiti corrupts the supposed neutrality of the space, preserving the mark of rebellion inherent in its original context.

This dialectic highlights the interests of Panmela Castro's work, which moves between resistance and legitimization, marginality and consecration. Even when occupying formal spaces, the work insists on the act of contestation, refusing to be assimilated without questioning the status quo. Thus, it operates along two main axes: the integration of the spontaneity of graffiti with the formal structure of the mirror, and the tension between this object, traditionally associated with individual vanity, and the word, which claims a collective sense of emancipation. The inscription proposed does not end in itself but acts as a stimulus for the public to engage with the reflective act, projecting themselves into a space of freedom now amplified by the presence of the other and the dialogical dimension that art enables.