Mother (2019)
“Mother” arose as an intense response to the tragedy of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada. When I learned the scale of this national crisis and the institutional neglect surrounding it, I felt a visceral need to create. Carrying Indigenous roots without official status, I felt both close to and distant from this heartbreaking reality.
This work is set against the context of public apologies from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after a national inquiry revealed years of indifference to these crimes. I wanted to transform this collective pain into a symbolic act of restoration, to return beauty, dignity, and a central place to these marginalized women in our national consciousness.
In my practice, “Mother” perfectly illustrates my approach to transforming light into narration. I began with a simple marker drawing, then metamorphosed it through multiple layers — scanning, electronic processing, high‑resolution printing. The raven, a messenger in Indigenous mythologies, and corn, evoking the ancestral “three sisters” method, are not simply illustrative but elements in a visual language that dialogues with light. Each meticulous cutting of shadow elements and the addition of colored leaves create a depth that characterizes my work. Placed before a light source, ideally a window, the work animates and reveals hidden dimensions — just like those women’s voices that persist despite attempts to silence them.
Medium: Mixed media
Technique: Drawing, photography, digital modifications, printing, cutting and collage
Dimensions: 12 × 12 × 1 inches
VEIL (2019)
“Veil” is inspired by the iconic 1985 National Geographic cover photograph of the young Afghan girl with green eyes. With this work, I express deep concern about the rollback of women’s rights in Afghanistan. What especially moves me is the stark contrast with Kabul in the 1970s, where women enjoyed freedoms and education that are now torn away.
This creation continues my questioning of the erasure of women’s identities across the world. The veil I depict is not just fabric, but a visual metaphor for invisible oppressions. I drew on testimonies collected by Amnesty International that document this brutal reality, where women’s piercing gaze persists despite everything — a resilience that obsesses me.
My layered technique translates the tension between what is hidden and what insists on showing itself. By shaping light through different strata of materials — cut drawings, painted acetates, colored papers — I create an optical device that changes with viewing angle and lighting. This work embodies the essence of my approach: transforming light into visual narration, where the gaze becomes movement and perception is never fixed. Placed before a light source, it reveals depth and hidden nuances — just like those women’s voices that, despite the darkness imposed on them, always find a way to shine.
Medium: Mixed media
Technique: Drawing, photography, digital modifications, printing, cutting and collage
Dimensions: 12 × 12 × 1 inches
MONK (2019)
“Monk” was born from a searing moment during a trip in northern India. In a temple I visited, I was struck by posters pleading for the release of a young monk — the presumed reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama — imprisoned by Chinese authorities. What moved me was not only the injustice, but the spiritual light that persisted despite oppression. I felt a visceral need to capture this resilience that transcends suffering.
Back home, the image haunted me. I delved into this tragic story within the Tibetan conflict, where even children become political symbols. This work dialogues with the 14th Dalai Lama’s writings on compassion persisting in adversity: “In our struggle for justice, the weapon of compassion is more powerful than that of violence.” It is precisely this quiet strength I sought to materialize.
The technique embodies my exploration of the boundaries between materiality and perception. The initial marker drawing, transformed through successive layers — printing, meticulous cutting, superposition of translucent materials — creates a stained‑glass effect that fully reveals itself only when light passes through. This transformation of the image by light materializes my quest for a “living visual field,” where the work never exists as fixed, but in a dynamic relationship with its environment and observer. Like the spiritual resilience it represents, the work seems to contain its own light source, constantly changing with viewing angle and illumination — a silent invitation to contemplation and reflection.
Medium: Drawing
Technique: Drawing, photography, digital modifications, printing, cutting and collage
Dimensions: 12 × 12 × 1 inches
BUFFALO WARRIOR 1 & 2 (2023)
“Buffalo warrior” arose after I was deeply affected by the protests of First Nations at Standing Rock. I was shaken to see these peaceful defenders not only injured but criminalized for protecting their ancestral territory against a pipeline. What marked me was their courage in the face of a judicial system that seemed designed to silence them.
This work belongs to a reflection on systemic injustice affecting Indigenous peoples across the Americas. The multiple versions I created reflect the complexity of these issues, spanning from northern Canada to Central America. I drew inspiration from writings such as those in The Nation that document how these nations are trapped by borders they did not draw and by economic systems that continually marginalize them.
In my practice, this piece illustrates my transformation of light into visual narration. I began with a marker drawing that I metamorphosed through several steps — scanning, electronic processing, printing on quality board — before literally sculpting light through meticulous perforations. These tiny holes create a starry‑sky effect when illuminated. Superposed paper layers — with printed buffalo and painted cutouts at different depths — along with painted acetates producing a backlight, materialize my pursuit of a “living visual field.” The work changes with viewing angle and light intensity — an invitation to perceive differently, to look beyond appearances, as an act of quiet resistance.
Medium: Mixed media
Technique: Drawing, photography, digital modifications, printing, cutting and collage, acetates, paint
Dimensions (per piece): 12 × 12 × 1 inches
