Who We Become and Who We Remain, 2022, acrylic on canvas, 10 × 14 inches

Exploring the diverse complexities of my immediate family, I was moved to make this painting originally. However, I had trouble completing this piece as its subjects were hard to identify as the process continued. We all have issues within our families and other interpersonal relationships in our lives, but we all navigate through them in our own, distinct ways. My family’s story is one that has began to discontinue within the last few years of my life and one that has always been surrounded by mental health issues. The psychological effects that played out in my immediate family are effects that each member, including myself, experienced while living in the environment I grew up in. As a family, we have continued to grow as individuals, and in other ways we have remained the same.