In my oil paintings I reflect on gender related problems and on the many roles women are expected to fill in the society. In my recent portraits I attempt to depict emotional state of women who experience various injustices. Among them is human trafficking that often leads to forced labor and prostitution. I invent faces of human trafficking victims, and try to reveal a range of emotions that the actual victims might experience, such as helplessness, despair, sadness, hopelessness, sense of injustice, indifference, and finally acceptance.  Despite the overwhelming number of the trafficking victims, their presence goes largely unnoticed in our society. I attempt to expose the existence, psychological struggle, fear, pain and vulnerability of the real victims through the invented portraits. The only elements suggesting the women’s enforced participation in the sex trade are the wigs they wear. I incorporate wigs into my artwork as a subtle symbol of the profound identity shifts that many of the victims experience.

I paint directly on canvas without preliminary sketches or drawings, and construct features of a specific individual through a quick process of underpainting. During the creative development I often choose to expose some parts of underpaintings and to incorporate them into the finished artworks.

I use painting to disclose the social problems that touch people. In the near future I intend to continue focusing on themes related to human trafficking. This widespread criminal phenomenon, in my opinion is underrepresented and needs to be exposed and publicized.