Inspired by my time in the Coast Guard, traveling to the North and South Poles. Penguins and whales were always one of my favorite and most adorable sites to see.
Inspired by my time in the Coast Guard, traveling to the North and South Poles. Penguins and whales were always one of my favorite and most adorable sites to see.
This painting reflects the trauma that immigration detention centers have on families and children. The gray buildings represent confinement and the systems that separate families. The butterflies symbolize migration, freedom, and hope. Liam Conejo Ramos was only one of many children still affected by detention centers.
This artwork is one of three connected images in a continuous series. The charcoal drawings are created across three separate sheets of paper, each carrying its own layer of storytelling while forming a unified narrative. The first drawing, The Distance Between Seeing and Knowing, contains my self-portrait. While the viewer looks at the artwork, I—as the artist—am hidden within the image and quietly confront the viewer from inside the frame. It reflects the subtle tension between observation and understanding.
In the second connected piece, Where Branches Remember, densely layered branches overlap and intertwine across the surface. Within this intricate tangle, small birds sit quietly among the branches. The eye from the first image—representing the artist’s hidden self-portrait—transforms into the form of a bird. In this way, the artist who was concealed in the first drawing reappears, now embodied as a bird, emerging from within the image and revealing itself to the viewer.
The third drawing, Branches Becoming Memory, gradually reduces the presence of the branches. Instead, eye-like forms dissolve into droplet-like shapes, while a flock of birds flies into the distance. The increasing empty space within the composition emphasizes a sense of departure and fading presence.This charcoal drawing series highlights the contrast between dense layered patterns and intentional negative space. Through metaphorical imagery—self-portrait/eye, branches, and birds—the works explore visibility, transformation, and the quiet transition from presence to memory.
