The weight of gentle things

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The weight of gentle things explores my emotional, ancestral, and spiritual relationship with the ocean. It reflects my own duality: With Curaçaoan and Dutch roots, I used to feel like I was moving between spaces, trying to figure out who I am. I am still figuring it out, but I feel the layered fullness of both more now.

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Water has always been symbolic to me, something that both separates and connects my two roots, carrying memory, duality, emotion, and strength. It speaks to me, not just as a physical element, but as a carrier of stories and presence. The ocean holds the journey of my ancestors, who were brought from Africa to the Caribbean, and in its depths it carries their memories, struggles, and resilience.

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This series was born during a moment in the sea in Curaçao. Floating in the ocean during a time of hurt, I felt held not just physically, but spiritually, as if the water embraced all parts of me and the presence of those who came before me. That experience became the emotional foundation for these works.

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In my practice, the ocean is more than an element, it is a space for becoming, a keeper of ancestral stories, a place where strength and softness coexist. Water is also a space of transformation and intention: it cleanses, nurtures, holds affirmations, and allows for healing. These paintings embody the balance of power and vulnerability.

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The series draws inspiration from lived experience and myth, including The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey, a Caribbean folklore story of Aycayia, a woman transformed into a mermaid, navigating the in-between. Like Aycayia, I explore the spaces between heritage, identity, and belonging.