Artist's Statement

There’s power in the stories we tell today that can inspire real change in our tomorrow. The stories we repeat to ourselves become the truths which shape our lives. Our perspectives develop out of both the contexts we live in and the information (or stories) we allow into our worldviews. These are personalized windows that create the realities that we believe to be possible.

Each story is a current, a river - one sustained through additional retellings and artistic manifestations of it. I create abstractions of stories from ancient Mediterranean mythology, pulling in what is mystical and mysterious into the present. These creations are my contributions to the rivers I wish to see flowing strongly in the future.

My focus is on the story of the sacred feminine, particularly as it has manifested over time on the island of Sicily, where my roots are. I could have started anywhere in the world, as the sacred feminine has expressions absolutely everywhere. Instead I chose a part of my heritage that is itself a melting pot. The wild and deep ocean of story there takes the shape of Potnia Theron, Inanna, Isis, Aphrodite, Medusa, Cybele, Venus, the Black Madonna, Stella Maris, Santa Rosalia; 10,000 faces over the past 10,000 years. Unsurprisingly, the ways in which these stories were told (and are told) are aggressively shaped by the perspectives and politics of their time. 

Celebrating the sacred feminine is in direct opposition to the stories our culture is most invested in. There are many stories being told right now about what the world is, about what’s inevitable, and what has the potential to change at all. In many of these, we are collectively asked to accept destructive power hierarchies as unavoidable and immutable. Are these the stories we want to endure? 

From the deep past to now, there are symbols of the sacred feminine that reveal a core story of ever-expanding life, fertility, beauty, and comingling of the spiritual and material planes. The Ocean is the ultimate sacred feminine for me, and remains my touchstone of awe-inspiring power. Much of the art I create, the shapes and rhythms of it, are born from my experiences swimming in the ocean. 

Protection is an integral part of power and many of the paintings included here reference protection symbols based on ancient stories and customs. In my work, I explore the concept of a life force (vitalitá) that moves through a community, enlivening it and protecting it. Some recurring motifs that represent this force include coral, horns, and chili peppers. These serve as protective charms that also promote vitality and fecundity. Although vitality and lifeblood are not the exclusive domain of the sacred feminine, the only avenue in which these are traditionally explored are through fertility and the feminine form.