Memories with Trees, 2025
acrylic on paper
 

This series of acrylic paintings was made during my residency in Gmünd, Austria, where I spent time observing and painting local trees.

I sometimes feel a quiet connection to trees — the way they stand still, witnessing time and memory. While working on this project, I came across the poetry of Ilse Tielsch, Memories with Trees, and her words stayed with me. She wrote about leaving her home as a child, and something in her experience felt deeply familiar to me.

"I walk with trees side by side
nestled together
My feet in lianas
crunching through the morning dew"

Searching for a sense of permanency. Finding the roots. Rediscovering the freedom and pleasure of painting...
This project became a quiet, personal way of thinking about art, diasporic identity, and what it means to take root somewhere new.