The Cultural Significance Behind My Work

When people talk about cultural significance in art, they often expect obvious references. Symbols that can be named. Stories that can be pointed to. For me, it does not work that way. The cultural significance of my work is not something I add after the fact. It is already there, because it comes from how I see and how I work.

Culture shapes you long before you think of it as culture. It shows up in what feels familiar, in what feels excessive, and in what feels unnecessary. It influences the kinds of images you are drawn to and the kinds you avoid. Much of this happens quietly, without conscious intention.

In my work, cultural influence is not about representation. I am not trying to illustrate identity or make visual statements about heritage. Instead, those influences appear in the choices I make while working. What I spend time on. What I leave out. How much information a piece carries. When something feels finished and when it feels like too much.

There is often an assumption that cultural meaning needs to be explained in order to be understood. I do not agree with that. Not everything meaningful can be translated into language without losing something in the process. Some things are better left intact, allowed to exist without being reduced to explanation.

The work carries where I come from simply because I carry it. That shows up in the pace of the work, in how images are held rather than pushed forward, and in the overall tone of the pieces. These are not decisions made to communicate culture. They are decisions that feel honest to how I work and live.

As the work moves into different homes and spaces, it will be understood differently by different people. That does not weaken its meaning. It allows the work to remain open, rather than fixed to a single interpretation.

For me, cultural significance is not about making something legible. It is about making something truthful. The responsibility of the studio is not to explain culture, but to work with integrity and care, trusting that what is real will carry through.