In my oil paintings, I use fracture to depict the layers of emotional and symbolic associations embedded into our perceptions of the mundane. The struggle to integrate these internal meanings with our cultural and social spheres is a recurring theme in my works. My visual language moves between heavy illusionism and expressive mark making. Layers of paint evoke the depth of experience. As a Tibetan Buddhist, I am constantly contemplating impermanence. These sobering meditations often serve as the inspiration behind my work. Religious and spiritual tropes imbue my images with allegorical meanings, inviting reflection on the timelessness of contemporary dilemmas. Recently, my paintings focused on tragedy and our response to tragedy. In Baroque-inspired pieces I grieved our mortality and geopolitical war. Additionally, I considered how we cope with these conditions. Influenced by the texts of philosopher Byung-Chul Han, I investigate the isolation of the modern subject and the importance of spaciousness and play in our current society. My works have been greatly inspired by my time abroad in Florence. For four months, I traveled throughout Europe to discover how the masters understood the project of art making. This immersion continues to inform my technical and conceptual approach. I am currently working on a series of paintings on Brooklyn nostalgia and a longing for the Caribbean. Through connecting these two cultural worlds, I express my grief over my Bajan grandfather’s passing, the loss of childhood, and the gentrification of Brooklyn.