To be lost in the ether, is to say that one is engrossed in a communication or visual that has no fixture in space or time; it has no precise location or context. Through my 15 oil paintings in this collection, I bring forward visuals of esoteric narratives, with notes on online and para-social relationships, and essentially, contemporary pre-occupations of a young woman alive in the 21st century.

In a few words, I gravitated towards this concept as I often think about the differences between online relationships (defined as relationships which are initiated online and have stuck to that platform and not ever or rarely ever moved to a physical dimension) and ‘real life’ (what is that, anyway?) relationships. I tried to look for an answer to explore the difference between the two. I wonder whether this is a universal experience, but as someone who grew up and was raised by the Internet, this is something I think about often. I have built some of the most intense relationships, shared moments, ideas, stories, and learnt a lot of valuable lessons on life and art, from building connections with people across the world. This collection of paintings is an ode to that sentiment.

There are other minor themes, or we could call them sub-plots, in my paintings. I also touch upon certain experiences which are common to us all now in this time, no matter where we come from living in these times. I feel very sensitive to them, in the sense that, I am hyper-aware and observant of it. Albeit the fact we experience them differently depending on our background, but more on that another time perhaps. Apart from solitude and loneliness, and seeking connections which are virtual, I feel that we are are also collectively experiencing as a species the beginning of the threat to our existence; an increase to economic hardships and climate collapse. While not a central theme to this collection, the undertones could be felt throughout, particularly in the pieces ‘Green House Effect’ and ‘Mother, our house is on fire’.

These narratives have thus led to my new body of work over the past year having been aimed at capturing intimate and abstruse moments of a familiar and domestic nature, belonging to either myself or my peers, mainly being other artists, with whom I communicate with through various channels online. I translate these moments and references into isolated visual anecdotes through choice in subject matter and narrative, shape, texture, and colour, from my perspective.

What I hope for you to note in this collection, is the subject matters and their narratives depicting moments in time inspiring curiosity as to the context of these situations. Through narratives I chose, I shed light on matters which preoccupy me in our contemporary society, namely loneliness and solitude (they are not one and the same) in the ‘social’ age, understanding online relationships, the digital curation of the self, and climate and ecological collapse. I try to capture a physical presence in all of my pieces, even where such form is outside of the frame.