I come from a small ethnic minority in north Iraq known as the Turkmen. Over my lifetime, much of this community - including my parents, aunts, uncles, elders, siblings and cousins – have dispersed across the globe. Since 1977, I have lived in the United States, where I finished my education, created my family and taught as a professor in Texas for 25 years. 

It has occurred to me that when the people of a community are separated from one another, when they can no longer speak their language, or sing their songs together, the threads holding their culture begin to loosen. Against this threat of loss, culture is held tightly within each member of the tribe, guarded and tended, so that it may reappear when conditions permit. I feel that this is one of the basic concepts of survival and that my work emerges out of this desire to remember, preserve and honor the culture that I belong to and that I love.

Remembering the women in my family are at the center of this work. I draw from my memories of their movements, language, and clothing. I tell stories about their lives. Some of these stories reimagine the past, others dream of a future. Through painting, I remember the landscapes that held us. Through sculpture and abstraction, their bodies take on new and inspiring forms. Ultimately, I created these works to give me a sense of peace and inspiration in a world that seems currently difficult.