One World to Share

With an increasingly globalized world, multiculturalism is inherent in the way ideas, imagery, and styles are exchanged between cultures and peoples. Our cosmopolitan society often replicates, takes, and draws inspiration from various cultures. Creators and consumers alike tend to overlook the context of these matters and can exacerbate the problematic side of exploring culture. It is crucial to have diplomatic conversations about multiculturalism. Freedom of expression can coexist with respectful representation.

I source various models to interview them about their culture, and paint them wearing cultural attire distinguished from their own ethnic background. Painting allows me to understand my models more intimately. The time and labor enables me to be reflective in what I learn from them. I am painting not just a culture, but an individual who happens to partake in that culture. As the artist, I am responsible for listening to their experience, their input, and their permission. While these people do not speak for their whole culture, it is important to remember they are humans with their own thoughts and feelings, who make up a larger collective. In its broadness, cultures and their members are always changing, varying, and evolving. It is fluid, and therefore difficult to define. This flexibility taught me to not subject one's identity to the concept of a culture. These traditions and customs are beyond physical appearances and societal associations. Painting these participants revealed that they could just as easily belong to the cultures I’ve depicted them in. 

Alongside my research, what matters to me most is making sure the models feel beautiful in what they wear and how they are depicted. The garments and symbols they bear are not just a spectacle, but a new lens to see themselves in. In the paintings, they hold power in their position, wearing fabrics in celebration, rather than conquest or commercialization. Each work is named after the subject to give credit to their ideas and culture, a practice that is lacking in the industrial world. 

My work serves to spark conversations and reconstruct ideas. Culture is not static, and we all are a part of its ebb and flow. This is just the start of what cultural expression, innovation, and harmony can offer. Anyone can explore culture whether it’s through clothes, food, or music if you educate yourself. What I’ve gained during this experience has made me eager to continue learning about what else there is in this world we share.