Predator I

Oil on canvas, 40x30x1", 2024

An imaginary creature innocently getting ready to enjoy some berries. But the world is frought with danger. Is the pending danger from the berries, the serpentine creature or the innocuous pale grass-like construction? None of us know what's next in our lives.

I am interested in the perception of space and the fleeting nature of reality. In a single moment, our reality can morph into a chaotic, fragmented, amplified, splintered, erased or a completely reengineered utopic or dystopic reality.

I begin with a representational piece. Using collage, I transform, fracture or completely reconstruct my "known world" into something new. For me, this process mirrors our human existence. Our world is never gone, just recycled, or regenerated. I create many new imaginary worlds through this process.

My personal history as an immigrant raised in a refugee family provides a subtle undercurrent to my work. Because I come from a fractured world, I tend to convey fragments, or pieces of reality in my paintings. These fragments are a part of my journey to find a place of peace amidst the chaos. We all search to be in an uplifting place and to find a place of belonging.