I am a multidisciplinary (quadrilingual) Black, American, Oklahoma native, Muslim raised, lesbian artist. I left the US in 2001 at the age of six years old, due to the rise of violence against Muslims post 9/11. Being a person of quadruple minority, I understand judicial systems set up to work against Black women, and the queer community on an intimate, and personal level. These experiences inspire the drive for my work. My practice consists of painting, poetry, performance, and prayer.

This work is an active and engaged invocation that delves into untold narratives of human emotions, the lives we are born into and then limited by. My pieces explore surreal landscapes of human consciousness. I approach my work with a conceptual sociologist's lens. Through books, I read, study, and archive aspects that educate me on the human condition. I desire to understand my own condition first, and how I fit into the larger systemic structure of an imperial framework. Once I’ve understood what I want to paint, I create mind maps and sketches to describe the information and emotions. Reading’s a core part of my process and practice. Through painting, sculpture, and poetry the pieces in my body of work explore the human capacity for tenderness and vulnerability. Drawing inspiration from tarot cards, runes, and the Quran; I explore how my unique placement within different forms of systemic oppressions, and cultural conditioning affect how I think of the world, and how it taught me to think of myself.

My current project is ‘The Captive Maternal Realm’. This work draws inspiration from the ‘Captive Maternal’ a non-gendered function, and being created by the scholar Dr. Joy James, and the book 'Stolen Women' by clinical psychologist Dr. Gail Elizabeth Wyatt. The paintings reclaim strength and softness of Black women, effeminate presenting men, AFAB (assigned female at birth), and gender non-conforming people, through visually surreal multidisciplinary methods. Paintings are created with woven constructed tapestry oil paintings. I begin each piece with a portrait on canvas, the heart of the painting. On separate pieces of canvas I paint objects, maps, and botanical gardens that symbolize experiences and history of the subject/s. The symbolic images are then sewn to the core (the portrait), as a border; to give shape, insight, or a glimpse of what lies behind the surface of a face. The sculptures are created using found and previously used fabrics, embroidery, beading, and paintings on canvas.

I create to clarify the ambiguity of far and near places; to humanize identities of people regardless of ethnicity, education, sexuality, or gender. This work is my determination for truth, empowerment, and liberation. As a Black, lesbian, multilingual, and intersectional feminist in an art world designed by and for white, heteronormative-masculinity, I own the tools to create this radical work. This is my purpose as an artist.