The Shifting Self

An embodied painting.

This project explores the intersection of painting, sculpture, and wearable art through a series of body based sculptures constructed from stitched-together fragments of paintings. They exist between disciplines: not fashion, not conventional paintings, but works that require the female body to exist—rather than hanging inert on a wall.

Each piece acts like a second skin, a layered map of lived experience. Once whole, then destroyed, and now remade, the fragments reflect transformation. Disjointed yet carefully stitched together, they embody care, attention, and resilience. The stitching itself becomes an act of love, a way of holding broken parts together and making them whole again.

The project is deeply tied to identity. The self is both constant and shifting, shaped by place, time, and context. I was born in Romania and became an immigrant; living between countries and cultures, I found myself changing each time—still me, but a different me. These garments reflect that process of becoming, of adapting, of carrying histories within the body.

This is an interdisciplinary work invites viewers to reconsider what painting can be—how it can inhabit space, interact with the body, and carry meaning through presence and movement. The female figure becomes both canvas and participant, bringing the work to life.

I approach painting as an open-ended process, one that is not confined to traditional techniques but extends into deconstruction, reconstruction, and experimentation. Canvas, for me, is not just a surface—it is a material to be cut, sewn, layered, and repurposed. I am drawn to rawness, imperfection, and the unexpected, allowing my process to be shaped by chance as much as by intention.