ABOUT ME

I am an Ethiopian artist based in Kigali, Rwanda. I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts from Brown University. My mixed-media paintings layer found materials with acrylic or oil paint on canvas. My childhood in Bishoftu, Ethiopia, has had a lasting influence on my work, particularly the materials I use. I draw on the elaborate games I played with my childhood friends, imitating the adult world around us, with toys we made from wire, cans, and discarded containers.

Manipulating materials I find from different walks of life, including refuse from my own household's consumption, I build color, texture, depth, and detail while invoking a child-like imagination in myself and my audience. My work explores narratives of social and environmental change, which may come violently or peacefully or somewhere in between, and of resilience, themes I have found to be universal across the places I have lived.

The juxtaposition of a playful process against narratives that can appear serious and heavy runs through my work. My practice is slow and meditative, merging material and brushwork. It is an invitation, to me and to you, into a space of imagination, play, and reflection.