My work explores life after trauma, specifically life after cancer. After completing chemotherapy I started a journey to reconcile the disconnect between my body, mind and spirit. I refused to live a life in fear, wondering when cancer would return.

To gain context outside my personal experience, my work features twelve women in the community who are living life post cancer. Interviews, photo sessions and time spent with these women gave me new perspective as I learned about each woman’s beautiful, resilient spirit.  All of them were trying to move forward, recognizing they have been changed by the experience.

Through these interactions my role as the artist became abundantly clear - An artist looks deeper. An artist lingers on life’s hard or tragic questions. Instead of moving past the experience, I want to move in it and transform it.

My practise usually begins with research, where I conduct interviews, photo sessions and draw inspiration from others experiencing healing. Before healing begins, I’ve found that there’s a duality between the physical self and the non-physical self, that is often contradicting, especially in situations where trauma has occurred.

My work with others going through a traumatic experience can only inform my own. The painting are not true representations of their healing, only my interpretation of it. The bright and vibrant paintings you see are only made possible because I have been in ‘remission’, or perhaps in the dark and scary places one needs to venture in order to see the light. I am becoming comfortable in fear, because that’s when it lifts away. I am truly processing the pain of my experience, and it gives way to hope, freedom and a comfort I can only refer to as God.

Ideally, my art would crush fear that the physical body can oppress on us, and allow the viewer to look past mortality, opening up a much deeper look at existence.