Lineage Collection
Ongoing seriesIt is a natural human tendency to seek connections and meanings in the world around us. I identify with an object for several reasons, including sentimental value, personal attachment or history, cultural significance, even for it’s perceived characteristics or qualities. A family heirloom, like a photograph, reminds me of loved ones and family roots. It represents intimacy, their personality, and lifestyle. Each piece functions as a glimpse into my stream of consciousness, a tangential view of an inner life bound by the meaning of self. Every part of this collection has a direct connection to who I am, where I came from, or an object I will inherit.
Saudade
2017Alternatively processed 35mm, collected photographs of the artist’s mother, and various textures from objects within the artist’s home.
Saudade is a Portuguese word: it is a feeling of longing, melancholy, desire, and nostalgia. It describes a deep emotional state; a yearning for a happiness that has passed, or perhaps never even existed. It carries with it a touch of melancholy, yet in that wistfulness there is love as well. One thing is certain: the object or person of that saudade does not inhabit the present space or time.
My work began as a mechanism to cope with my mother’s chronic progressive disease, Multiple Sclerosis. I obsessively created with her image embedded as the subject; questioning how one could portray “the human condition.”
My work began as a mechanism to cope with my mother’s chronic progressive disease, Multiple Sclerosis. I obsessively created with her image embedded as the subject; questioning how one could portray “the human condition.”
Sisters
2017Watercolor and acrylic on yupo
Dimensions vary
Uncle Sam's Pipes
2017Graphite and tobacco residue on paper
9 inches x 12 inches
A collection of smoking pipes from my late great-uncle Samir Ayoub.
Morfar and Mormor
2017Pencil on Strathmore drawing paper
18 inches x 24 inches
Morfar is Norwegian for “Mother’s father” and Mormor is “Mother’s mother.”
