I create art to explore identity as an “alien,” transforming migration stories and the resilience of the children I teach into visual form.
You decide who will appear in Artforum Magazine, take home $25,000, and display their work at The Art of Elysium's Salon!
I create mixed media paintings where acrylic becomes the foundation and oil emerges as a living intervention. I move between contemporary and traditional techniques, allowing layers to speak to one another. This process reflects how cultures and identities intertwine—separate histories merging, dissolving, and becoming one shared, evolving whole.
Where do you find inspiration?I find inspiration in lived experience—my journey as an immigrant and the stories of the children I’ve taught. Their resilience, memories, and quiet strength stay with me. I am drawn to the spaces between belonging and displacement, where identity is constantly shifting, and where personal histories become a universal language.
What would you do with $25,000?I would expand my Aliens series, creating a body of work that deepens this exploration of identity and belonging. It would give me the time and space to fully realize these narratives and share them more widely—transforming invisible stories into lasting presence.
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