This body of work engages with contemporary migration discourse, filtered through a personal, emotive, and diasporic lens. Through these paintings, I contemplate the fraught politics of place, the contested right to movement, and the desperate acts individuals undertake to survive. They examine the ruptured bonds of homeland and community, while confronting the existential perils of treacherous migratory journeys.

Rooted in the lived experiences of the Eritrean and Tigray people, with whom I share both an identity and a homeland, my work bears witness to their resilience amid displacement. A central figure emerges, one who interrogates the nature of her existence and environment. Her very being is rendered precarious, as if her presence is inconsequential in the face of larger forces. She navigates a liminal space, oscillating between observer and inhabitant, her survival intimately bound with those she represents.

In this sense, these works transcend the individual experience, becoming acts of both protest and assertion—statements on the human condition, resilience, and hope in the face of overwhelming adversity.

ዳኒአላ በዛበህ ዮሃንነስ

ዳኒአላ በዛበህ ዮሃንነስ