My work is about social and political themes and the way moments of injustice, hatred and violence in people’s lives today are captured, portrayed and represented in media. My paintings explore the delicate array of twisted emotions and sentiments surrounding the impact of political actions in our current time in society as a whole. I paint to express a deep sense of hopelessness and emptiness as a result of all the moments of acknowledging instances of social injustice, inequities and calamities and the feeling of helpless in the face of it all.
My distinctive methods and compositions in the paintings remove the focus from the details of the depicted scenes and approach the subject emotively encouraging the viewers to trust and stick to their own feelings evoked by the work. The paintings become the trigger to access unknown experiences, urges and conflicted opinions about the portrayed protagonists or events. The space that opens up from the combination of the canvas and the mirrored parts at place is a challenge for the viewer to visually process creating a specific optical moment of dual recognition and an open stage for reconnecting with the complex emotions and direct engagements with the subject.
It is not easy to feel active and in charge of what is going on in the world today. At times, it feels like we as humans with our mundane commitments and lives have very little say in what is happening in the world at large. But with the very act of painting these scenes and events from the news or from various media distributors I believe I can express my deep compassion, empathy and desire to help and inspire others to act. My work aims to reinforce the awareness in people’s hearts of those struggling individuals and families who are pushed to the edge of life and death daily.