Artist Statement

My artistic practice is a visual exploration of identity, heritage, and the nuanced experience of existing between cultures. As a woman of mixed heritage navigating the Latin American diaspora, my work serves as a bridge—reconnecting me to my body, mind, and Ecuadorian roots through a process that is both deeply personal and spiritually resonant.

My most current body of work represents a significant expansion of this inquiry. I am now combining fine art oil painting with traditional techniques historically relegated as 'women’s work'—such as sewing, knitting, and embroidery—to challenge the hierarchy that has long separated craft from art. This fusion is both a conceptual choice and a deeply personal, therapeutic practice. These methods have been a vital part of my navigation through mental health challenges over the past four years, guiding a profound shift in my practice and becoming an important part of my recovery and journey toward self-motherhood.

This introspective new series features cropped self-portraits that weave a narrative of nostalgia for my home country of Ecuador and trace the many physical and mental borders I have crossed to build a life in Norway. The tactile, meditative act of stitching and embroidering mirrors the work of mending and healing, allowing me to embrace the unbridled joy I felt creating with these materials as a child.

I am profoundly inspired by the trailblazing women artists who were historically marginalized—figures like Alice Neel, Leonora Carrington, and Suzanne Valadon, who carved space for their own narratives. In their spirit, my work, while rooted in figurative painting, now expands into performance and installation, further exploring the physicality of identity. Ultimately, my work is an act of reclamation, inviting reflection on the complex journey of defining oneself across cultures and through healing.