Daffodils bloom every spring, even when we are apart, 2022
Oil, beads, and modeling paste on canvas
72.6 x 101.6 cm, 30 x 40 in
They Met Online, They Live Online, 2022
Oil on canvas
72.6 x 101.6 cm, 30 x 40 in
A painter and digital content creator’s power is shared, as both control what elements are included and excluded within a composition. The mere choice of leaving objects out of a scene urges the spectator to imagine. The figures find themselves in an unidentifiable space that was once private to their relationship, now shared with strangers’ gaze, subject to whispers of critique and judgments.
Portrait of Osama, 2021
Oil on canvas
61 x 72.6 cm, 24 x 30 in
A portrait of my friend Osama, who is an Instagram influencer. Through Facetune alterations, a once recognizable face is now a strange and intimidating one.
Portrait of Jens, 2021
Oil on canvas
61 x 72.6 cm, 24 x 30 in
A portrait of my father through the digital eye.
Five Million Lives, 2021
Oil, acrylic, and glass beads on canvas
72.6 x 101.6 cm, 30 x 40 in
People who experienced the pandemic with access to the internet shared a perspective that was not accessible to all. This work reflects on death and loneliness as a shared experience through social media.
My practice explores the user and their relationships, which are constantly influenced by a digital presence. My explorations stretch from intimate moments shared through messaging apps to miscommunication as an inevitable consequence of online interaction. Through a process that combines digitally shared photographs with oil painting, I incorporate expressive colors and graphic design techniques in my compositions. I am interested in the human desire for socialization on the internet, and how these dynamics manifest themselves contemporarily. The distorted and reflected body parts are fabricated with Facetune, a free photo-editing application used to edit and retouch users’ appearances. The grid is ever-present in my work, an element that is the foundation of our virtual world; pixels, Instagram feeds, and camera rolls. I seek a new perspective on social networks and digital dualism.