Layers of a Woman
My face is not just my face. My body is not just flesh. We are layers—layers of history, of generations of women, of traditions carried silently within us. These layers are often hidden beneath the calm and softness that society expects of femininity, veiled behind the mask of “properness.”
Through my art, I seek to uncover these layers. I am drawn to capturing women—the women I love, admire, and call my friends. Each of them carries these unseen layers, deeply rooted in emotions and stories we don’t always share with the world. Layers of strength and vulnerability, of inherited wisdom and quiet resilience.
There is a bond among women, a shared understanding of these depths. In that sacred space, we honour the generations who came before us and the traditions that have shaped who we are today. These layers are not just what define us—they are what connect us.
Most of us come from backgrounds that, for centuries, were fantasized or fetishized by the white European male gaze, particularly during the Orientalist art movement of the 19th century. Our cultures and identities were romanticized, exoticized, and flattened into decorative tropes, stripped of their complexity and humanity.
I decided to take back that gaze. Through my art, I reclaim the narrative, drawing from the aesthetics I grew up admiring— rich textures and faked intimacy—but reshaping them on my terms. I infuse these elements with a modern twist, blending them with contemporary influences like sportswear, creating something unapologetic, and fresh.
It’s a way of honoring the beauty and heritage of those aesthetics while subverting the gaze that once sought to objectify them. This is our story, told through our lens, with layers of authenticity, power, and pride.
Layers of a Woman
My face is not just my face. My body is not just flesh. We are layers—layers of history, of generations of women, of traditions carried silently within us. These layers are often hidden beneath the calm and softness that society expects of femininity, veiled behind the mask of “properness.”
Through my art, I seek to uncover these layers. I am drawn to capturing women—the women I love, admire, and call my friends. Each of them carries these unseen layers, deeply rooted in emotions and stories we don’t always share with the world. Layers of strength and vulnerability, of inherited wisdom and quiet resilience.
There is a bond among women, a shared understanding of these depths. In that sacred space, we honour the generations who came before us and the traditions that have shaped who we are today. These layers are not just what define us—they are what connect us.
Most of us come from backgrounds that, for centuries, were fantasized or fetishized by the white European male gaze, particularly during the Orientalist art movement of the 19th century. Our cultures and identities were romanticized, exoticized, and flattened into decorative tropes, stripped of their complexity and humanity.
I decided to take back that gaze. Through my art, I reclaim the narrative, drawing from the aesthetics I grew up admiring— rich textures and faked intimacy—but reshaping them on my terms. I infuse these elements with a modern twist, blending them with contemporary influences like sportswear, creating something unapologetic, and fresh.
It’s a way of honoring the beauty and heritage of those aesthetics while subverting the gaze that once sought to objectify them. This is our story, told through our lens, with layers of authenticity, power, and pride.
