Artist Statement

Born in Paris to Egyptian parents, my life has always carried the stories of the past while I lived in the present. The deconstruction and reconstruction of life has been a daily ritual since birth. My paintings strive to integrate elements from the past through emotion into an integrated whole with color, line and fragments of memories. Memories materialize into narratives through photos, hand-written documents and pages of old books. The construction of these elements not only occurs through composition, but through the act of stitching, a literal form of mending torn pieces of society together. The feminine intentionally heals in my work through lace, silk and hand-sewn fabrics. At times, these softer elements are juxtaposed with the heavy emotions of humanity, expressed through texture, color and dripping paint. The unconscious is at play when I create my works, allowing me the freedom to get lost on my journey and experience play and emotion in ways I never remember as a child. My markings create multiple inviting windows, giving access to a potential wholeness that occurs within the dimensions of my paintings.