In my work, I investigate the decision making process; interrogating the day-to-day mind chatter that leads us to move here or there, to our lover or our demise. I am very curious about these choices often made in spontaneous moments that have lasting impact on our lives. I think about the choices made in one’s last moments or just on the way to buy bread. 

I often portray this in what I call abstract mindscape. These spontaneous carved markings, in either linoleum or wood, reference in part the automatic drawings of surrealists like André Masson. The lines are allowed to occur while attempting to push thoughts or negative memories in the back seat. On the other hand, the lines still symbolize quiet, in deed private, decisions made in the moment.

The numbers of lives lost not just in Rwanda but also daily all over the world somehow fascinates me. I wonder about that individual amidst that large statistic. What was going through their mind? I speculate on what his mother or her brother is feeling in this very moment. My piece, “A Full Days Work” as well as “A Half Days Work,” investigate the senselessness of the 800,000 or more lives lost in Rwanda in those 100 days in 1994, at a rate of 8,000 people per day, 333 per hour, 5 per minute, and one person every twelve seconds. Fasting, I remained silent for a 24-hour period carving a pair of eyes every 12 seconds and making quiet choices in solitude amidst a crowd. The resultant linocut prints are the outcome of this performance situation.

My new work also addresses geopolitical relations that often translate into these unplanned carved marks within the guidelines of the map silhouettes of countries. I deconstruct the relationships of countries that have been at war and reposition them to fit in my harmonious new world. The linocut, “Addis Making Sweet Passionate Love To Asmara as Kigali, Darfur, and Kinshasa Look On” illustrates this notion.