Artist Statement

My work explores concepts of healing, journey, and the pursuit of completion. As a bearer of childhood trauma and a participant in the institutions of therapy, medication, and the commodification of care, I have become familiar with the capitalist inclination to generalize experience and assume a clear path to wholeness. But it is simply not the case. Universality among humanity is a myth, aside from the condition of having a body. 

My drawings bring attention to the paradox of universality by highlighting the nuances and differences that exist among shared features. We rely on these features to function, and yet they are often seen as sources of insecurity, imbalance, and tension. It is common to define ourselves based on what we think we should be, where we should be, who we should be. Rigidity rules our sense of self. 

Upon revisiting my many desperate attempts at saying something with my art, I found that its unfinishedness is incredibly interconnected with how I’ve experienced the world thus far. As is the nature of healing, my paintings are nonlinear, unpredictable, and never complete. They acknowledge the beauty of breakthrough while celebrating the trials and tribulations that come with it.