"Twelve years ago, my life started all over again the day I arrived in the United States. So many things I once took for granted—cultural familiarity, the ease of belonging—became lessons to be relearned. I’m often asked, “Where are you from?” My appearance and accent mark me as an outsider, a reminder that fluency, even when seamless, doesn’t erase the tension of navigating a world that sees you as “other.” These experiences—moments of clarity and moments of alienation—fuel my art, rooted in the belief that displacement is a shared language, spoken in countless accents.

"My story is part of a larger narrative: the story of immigrant and refugee women worldwide. As an immigrant artist, I am drawn to amplify the voices of those who have crossed borders—whether fleeing persecution as refugees or migrating for opportunity—carrying the weight of their histories while forging new lives. The Souls of Resilience is a portrait series that honors this courage, featuring women from Asian, African, Middle Eastern, and other backgrounds. Through interviews and collaborative storytelling, the series explores migration, displacement, fluid identities, and the universal threads of humanity that bind us.

"The project seeks to reveal the individuality of each woman—her unique journey, the interplay of roles across cultures, and the mental landscapes shaped by loss and reinvention. Yet it also celebrates our shared spirit: resilience, dignity, and the quiet defiance of surviving and thriving in a world that often overlooks us. Whether born from war, economic hardship, or the pursuit of freedom, each story is a testament to the unyielding strength of the human soul.

"My motivation stems from my own reckoning with identity. At my lowest ebb, I documented my struggle through self-portraits, painting myself with unflinching honesty—a therapy that channeled chaos into clarity. This struggle became the catalyst for my art. As a former university faculty, adapting to life as a blue-collar worker taught me that identities are societal labels; our core selves transcend them. This humility fueled my empathy, urging me to listen to stories beyond my own.

"In works like my self-portraits—rendered against blank or minimal backgrounds—I use emptiness as a metaphor: both the rootlessness of displacement and the possibility to redefine oneself. The lack of context denies easy categorization, inviting viewers to see the women beyond the labels of “immigrant” or “refugee.” In every portrait, there is light: a gaze that speaks of survival, a posture that claims dignity, a spirit that refuses to be erased.

"This exhibition is a homage to all immigrant and refugee women—a testament that resilience is not merely survival, but an act of creation. We are not just survivors; we are weavers of new worlds, stitching resilience into every thread of human being."