“Come as you are” is a phrase that became a mantra, then a practice. As I worked to welcome my own beingness, I extended that same compassion to all who came to my DIY home exhibition on October 4, 2025.
In preparation for my international move to Peru, I had absolved myself of all my possessions. I decided to make use of my emptied home to host a one-night solo art exhibition that would also serve as a going-away party.
The Work
This collection spans from 2022-2025. This is a time when I started making my work just for me, as a means of healing. I was recovering from the trauma of "waking up" from the high-control religion I'd been raised in, Jehovah's Witnesses. I turned to many forms of expression to make sense of the continuous changes in myself and my world.
When I couldn’t define my feelings, I made music.
When I had too many, I poured them into words and drawings.
To open myself to joy, I played with the magic of light and holographics.
During dissociative periods, I clipped images. When I felt present, I collaged them together.
In the past four years, a collection emerged as a record of my elation and grief, confusion and clarity, discoveries and fears. I made it for me, and now you get to see.
