Artist Statement

  • I am a multidisciplinary conceptual artist working across mixed media and photography. My practice is influenced by over a decade...

    I am a multidisciplinary conceptual artist working across mixed media and photography.

    My practice is influenced by over a decade of work in education and consulting in Iraq and Afghanistan— regions often associated with conflict but brimming with stories of human resilience. These experiences shape my exploration of cultural heritage, politics, and mysticism.

     

    While my photography captures everyday scenes of resilience, my visual works merge abstraction with figurative elements, reflecting a dialogue between my role as a conduit for energy and an active observer of it. Central to my process is the organic translation of energy onto canvas, enriched by historical research and imaginative reconstruction.

  • Central to my process is the organic translation of energy onto canvas, enriched by historical research and imaginative reconstruction.

    My recent series, Epochgraphy I, attempts to make new connections across past, present, and future epochs. What began as an exploration of channeling energy through music evolved into energy taps that went much deeper. The works feature spontaneous markings, occasional figurative forms, dots and sinewy lines, inadvertently echoing the aesthetics of Pleistocene cave art and petroglyphs. I chose to frame the works as both a critique of the marginalization of cave art within art history— and even more so the arts from Asia and Africa—and an homage to the lasting inspiration of my visit to the Shanidar Caves in Iraq in 2010. 

    Read more

    Other projects delve into the realm of natural histories, inviting viewers to collaborate with me in reviving historic global heritage. My 2024 Petri Dish Dino series presents a contemporary reimagining of lost animal kingdoms. In this work, dinosaurs and mythical creatures dance within symbolic energetic topographies, reminiscent of bacterial growth within a Petri dish.

     

    Inspired by the 12th-century Arabic manuscript The Wonders of Creatures and the Marvels of Creation which documents mythical and endangered creatures, my current Translations series bridges ancient life forms with contemporary provocation. Through the lens of this cryptozoological ancient text, I use an invented language to breathe new life into endangered creatures, and imbue them with provocations that challenge the norms of our ultra-technologize lives. The provocations are not fully translated, and instead posed as questions (the titles of the works), to inspire dialogue and environmentally-conscious action.