2023 - 24 Painting & Photography Series
Spitting out foamy toothpaste, oil on canvas, 16" x 20", November 2023
I get used to it and I don't notice those kinds of things, oil on canvas, 2' x 3', October 2023
June, June, June, July, July, July, oil on wood panel, 18" x 24", November 2023
Piña, oil on canvas, 11" x 14", September 2023
Sentirse Profunda y sin remordimiento, oil on canvas, 3' x 4', March 2024
Permanacer así para siempre, oil on canvas, 2' x 2.5', November 2023
I drove by my childhood house the other day, they painted it dark blue, oil on canvas, 3' x 4', February 2024
I feel like I no longer fit in your world, oil on canvas, 3.5' x 5', February 2024
Papaya, oil on wood panel, 11" x 14", January 2024
The sky is so much bigger now, oil on canvas, 3.5' x 5', March 2024
I need you to know I found you sweet and warm, oil on canvas, 3' x 4', April 2024
Sticking from the fruit, oil on canvas, 16" x 20", April 2023Paulie,
On our walk together, we saw the pieces of us set in fey. I want to apologize. I can never express myself the way I want to. I only write to you now so you know what I saw– if only I could look you straight in the eye.
The morning light kissed your cheeks, and by nightfall, I took your place. It was familiar and blue. The sun moved alongside us that day and became an embodiment of our transience. There was palpable hesitancy in the air as our conversations slowly confirmed the last day of our relationship.
I’m sorry I winced through the sour taste of our once-sweet passion. You peeled yourself apart for me, and over time, I no longer sweetened that fruit.
Our love became overripe, and I got used to it. I didn’t notice how drastically the taste had changed. I tend to romanticize things, and it was hard to let you go. I kept running my hands along the slates of those fences, trying to find a latch. We could’ve kept walking if I had found its gate sooner.
Thank you for walking with me.
We recalled memories as we walked, the weight of their layers splitting us open and spilling us out. If I were to walk back along that path, would we find our cores scattered along the pavement?
I missed it all, and I couldn’t find you.
The sun was blazing in my eyes; its rays grazed your cheek. Coulees behind you, the sky looked so much bigger. Tan solo la pared de atrás y el sol delineando cada detalle, me imagino como me has visto.
I hope you’re doing okay.
I love you still,
Maracuyá
June + July 2023, Digital Photos
Maracuyá (2023-24)
Maracuyá (passionfruit, in English) is a series that uses the fruit's symbolism to convey a narrative of two hesitant women of colour on a walk during the last day of their relationship. The passionfruit has a distinctive tart and sour taste and is not meant to be eaten as is; the seeds and insides are sweetened for consumption, and the skin is discarded– a reflection of a relationship's mental hesitations and emotional intricacies. Through this motif, the narrative series of paintings invites viewers to explore the complexities of the lesbian experience within an intolerant situational and mental space.
Inspired by photographers and cinematographers like Wolfgang Tillmans, Magela Crosignani, James Laxton and Nan Goldin, this series explores filmology and visual storytelling through a static medium. The cinematic flow of these works takes place over the course of one day. It is a long walk that begins in the morning and ends at night, allowing light to inform the narrative. Starting with the delicate glow of morning, the series uses soft blues and pinks to mirror the ephemerality of daylight and the dwindling spark of romance. The evolution of the colour palette reflects the emotional landscape and the transience of relationship. Facial expressions and nuanced interactions are prominent to convey the characters slowly growing apart.
Maracuyá stresses the silent language of unspoken emotions. In this visual exploration, hints are scattered throughout the paintings, yet they intentionally deviate from explicit storytelling. This deliberate ambiguity invites viewers to create meaning, allowing for a more open-ended interpretation of storytelling that may resonate uniquely with each viewer's perspective. This series is a story where time, colour, and emotion combine, where the narrative is as fluid and dynamic as the relationships it seeks to explore.
Thank you to the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation for their generous support and funding for this project.
Models: Janet Logwe, Valerie Camila
Photography: Valerie Camila, Wyatt Culley