Since the beginning of the Covid quarantine in 2020, I have been deeply inspired by my experiences at home with my two “pandemic pets.”

Up until the pandemic, I was creating large-scale, feminist portraits of women, showing them how they wanted to be seen. Then, during the year 2020, the social, racial, and political unrest in the world, coupled with quarantine, made me want to find beauty and peace in my immediate surroundings. My partner and I rescued two puppies that year, and those puppies shaped my quarantine experience.

The paintings for this exhibition are intimate portraits that show the confinement of the pandemic, but also the comfort, joy, and relief that my home, partner, and pets provided me. As the pandemic progressed and spending time outdoors was encouraged, I cherished going on walks and to parks with my dogs. Thus, my paintings shifted from indoor to outdoor settings, much like our collective pandemic experience. Spending time with my dogs helped me cope, and the act of painting them aided in that as well.

This exhibition aims to encourage discussion on what helped others get through this traumatic time, and in turn creates a collective healing experience.