Nova :3

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After the election Ive tried to pour all of my feelings into communication, and these are just some small flyers I made. We unfortunately live in a timeline where false narratives run rampant and our government is thick with hypocrisy. I hope everyone takes the time to educate themselves on who we pick as our leaders.

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I continue to be inspired by the beautiful greenery and fruit of GAZA 🍉🌿🇵🇸

When I began making this flag I was spending a lot of time thinking about earthly liberation and the persistence of nature around us.

This past week the Students for Palestine at University of Minnesota renamed Morrill Hall to Halimy Hall after Medo Halimy, who was martyred by the IOF. He resisted by growing plants & life during genocide & occupation.

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Some prints I had the pleasure of making and sharing recently.

In 1967, after occupying the remainder of historic Palestine, namely East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, Israel immediately banned the Palestinian flag. That ban was part of a much larger restrictive campaign aimed at preventing Palestinians from expressing their political aspirations.

The Keffiyeh quickly became a new symbol of Palestinian nationhood and resistance. The history of the Keffiyeh goes back many years before the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of historic Palestine by Zionist militias in 1947-48.

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The Olive Leaf pattern represents strength, resilience, and perseverance.

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The Fishnet pattern represents the connection between the Palestinian sailors and the Mediterranean Sea

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The Bold Crossing Lines represent the trade routes going through Palestine; preserving a long and rich history of merchants, travel, and cultural exchange.

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The watermelon and poppy flower have been used repeatedly throughout Palestine’s modern history, specifically when Israel banned the ownership or display of the Palestinian flag. The fruit and flower feature the same colors as the prohibited flag: black, red, white, and green. Poppies commemeorate and honor martyrs, specifically those who have lost their lives fighting for the Palestinian nation. Furthermore, it serves as a constant memory of the bloodshed Palestinians have endured for the last 70+ years.

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I based the patterns for the poppies and watermelons off of Tatreez Palestinian embroidery. Embroidery is not only an art for Palestinians, but a medium of expression and preservation of culture.

Palestinian symbols reflect the desire of Palestinians to return to the land of their ancestors and to reclaim the rights and justice that they have been long denied.

No matter how hard Israel has tried to discredit, ban or recounter these symbols, it has failed and will continue to fail.

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“A portal to my personal baby blue hell”

Mixed media sculpture; cardboard, paper mache, paper mache clay, plaster, and found object.

I have always had a lot of displaced anger towards healthy families where everyone is allowed to close and lock bedroom doors and everyone knocks; parents who had trust and faith in their kids. Im so jealous that I sometimes feel sick and filled with rage over it.

My Dad’s first step in “tough love” was to remove my bedroom door. I never understood how humiliation and removing a child’s self-respect and need for privacy was a tool in “defeating” my bad behavior. The bathroom became a temporary sanctuary to me, where no one would question the door being closed and locked so I found myself finding any excuse to spend as much time as I could sitting on that bathroom floor. I never understood why my Dad thought that was a good punishment, and still to this day I don’t know what it did besides create more anguish between us. I don’t know what I should have learned from that.

This work was an installment of my thesis! I struggled with taking documentation 🥲 its just one of those pieces thats better viewed in person. The inside writing says “I WANT TO WEAR A TOWEL AROUND MY WAIST JUST LIKE YOU”

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"Period Mace"

Steel and resin sculpture

Thinking about how I’ve hated having a period my entire life due to being afab. I had it earlier than anyone I knew and I struggled to feel normal about it (it felt like every female in my life was in on a secret I didn’t understand) so I chose to view it as blood beaten out of me from a merciless battle. The choice of a mace as my weapon felt right due to it being a more heavy-weight masculine weapon.

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"Sight Test"

Soft Sculpture, Textiles

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“I will be quiet, i wont bother you ___.”

Cardboard sculpture, laser-cut details.

Every once in a while my Dad would get large packages of computer parts for his job, this excited me because it meant for a week, I was allowed to make a fort with whatever cardboard he didn't want before it had to be recycled. I often made my forts in the typical shape of a house with a pointed roof and chimney. My forts were too small for any of my siblings to fit into, but the perfect size for me to hide in. Most of my fort memories I'm fond of, but sometimes my cardboard home was the only place that felt safe. When it was time for the cardboard to be recycled, I felt like my home was being stripped away from me. My whole life I've felt like I've searched for what "home" really means.

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“Sorry I frew up.”

Soft sculpture, hand sewing and embroidery

More of my writing in regards to my early childhood relationship with my Father as it deteriorated.

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“I keep opening animal crossing and hoping my brother will play with me again.”

Soft sculpture, machine embroidery

One of my favorite silly facts about myself is that the gamecube came out the same day I was born 🤯 sometimes I’ll boot up animal crossing on my childhood gamecube and look at the town me and my siblings used to love, my brother was especially good at the game, his house had all the rooms and floors unlocked and the town square even had a golden statue of him in his honor. My house has stayed messy, with only two rooms, and mismatched furniture to go with my mismatched personality. When I open the game it feels like I’m trying to reach my younger self, I want to know what I was thinking at that age, what were my thoughts and emotions and why is it so different now.

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"A Conversation I Often Have With Myself."

Lasercut plywood with ribbon.

I have spent a lot of my life being misunderstood for my queerness by family, losing the closeness I once thought I had with people I once shared everything with has been a troubling and miserable experience, forgiveness continues to be a struggle of mine.

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Lipstick Applicator with Mirror

(welded steel, lipstick, mirror)

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Double Daggers

(3D modeled and Sand casted by me)