Artist Statement

I aim to explore and bring to light the miracles we tend to miss in the everyday mundane.

Being human is complicated. We strive to be extraordinary, amazing, and perfect, while it is exactly the ordinary, the regular and imperfect that makes us human. Our bodies are forever changing and growing, but also decaying at the same time. A million mental and physical changes happen to us every second that our consciousness can not even comprehend. We are fragile and vulnerable, yet strong and impactful. We create environments that are at the same time in our mercy and out of our control.

With my art, I want to speak what my words struggle to say. Life is a miracle, especially when it is mundane. My goal is to detect the subtle clues in our ordinary behaviour that reveal the dissonance in our minds. I observe, interpret and detect patterns of life, present and past, to communicate a message that requests the viewer to self-reflect.

I chose charcoal as a medium to represent the vulnerability of my subjects. Although charcoal is a messy and fragile medium, it was once a strong, fiercely growing entity that endured extreme temperatures to find itself on the other side of survival as a useful tool, providing the opportunity to communicate visually.

The flat colourful sections in my work highlight the stark contrast between our humanness and our environment, between our vulnerability and our strength, and between the miracle and the mundane.

The subject matter I choose for my work varies widely. I find inspiration and gather reference material from historical and modern-day photographs. The human subjects are usually provided with bare feet to emphasise their humanity.

Recurring elements in my work, like windows, trees, pets, chairs, blankets, shadows, and books, all serve as a personal symbolic dictionary. The meaning I attach to these elements might not be the same as the viewer’s, but it adds to my style. The process of making art is not only to communicate what I struggle to say but also to embrace healing, mindfulness and gratitude in my trials and triumphs.