Iman Aurora Sakkaf

I am fascinated by the dance between moment and memory. In an instant, I am able to be in multiple places. How can the past sometimes feel so present? This dance can be bittersweet; nostalgia can overwhelm me. This dance, though, by its very existence, brims with possibility.  Reality does not exist in the straight jacket “we” have perhaps tried to force on it. Reality is everchanging, moving, brimming with possibility. If past and present may coexist, what else is possible? How might we live in our world? I explore the miracle of possibility in my paintings.

Nature, for me, is a source of wonder. I celebrate natural imagery, and the impact it has on me. Observing, say, a flower involves flower, soil, sunlight, myself, and more—mingled with all that these different entities bring to that moment. I strive to show this vast dance of togetherness.

In our current pandemic times, interconnectedness regarding our health, and other areas of life, has made me incredibly aware of how linked we all are. My paintings explore this sense of connectivity. Just as when meeting a flower, the same is true when talking with other people.  One essence and another, all the memories each might bring to a moment, and the newness created in every interaction with another. Constant possibility. These sparks of light, meaning, and connection, are ones that I try to celebrate in my work.  Much is unseen, yet real, and I explore that unseen world.