About
Artist Statement
My work began, while preparing for and recovering from surgery, as an exploration of what it means to belong—to be human—by considering how are we related to each other, to the other animals, to the other elements.
The illustrations that answer these questions depict altered-state-ceremonies, fieldwork interpretations, and ancestors in ways that examine assumed categories and markings. To interrogate and engage these markings leaves us with visual stories and the flesh and blood beings who animate the canvas as narrative. Dreamy illustrations recall the feelings of fairytales while bold colorful illustrations bring out different ways we are positioned by and position ourselves within narratives of the past, present, and future.
Material & Technique
Digital: I create my artwork in Adobe Fresco, drawing vector and pixel layers free hand and then combining the layers for a dreamy effect, with a focus on plant-based human ceremonies and zodiac animals.
Acrylic: Most of my acrylic paintings are done on wood panels and the resulting art work often interprets my digital art designs.
Artist Bio
Multiverse is a queer Chicana educator and artist. In the late 1980s, Multiverse began work across informal economic sectors and was sexually assaulted by police in the early 1990s. After this, she became active in the sex worker rights movement and entered university. Today, she holds a Master of Education degree and is currently the Executive Director of All Saints Literacy Center in Detroit, MI. She has taught, conducted research for, and held fellowships at universities in the United States and Hong Kong. Her academic work has been published in Anthropology News, Anthropology of Work, SAGE Reference Series on Green Society, Society for Applied Anthropology, and United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women.
Multiverse has displayed her artwork at Detroit's Galerie Camille "Looking for the Light” and sometimes displays/sells work at Ann Arbor’s Gutman Gallery. Her work is available at www.multiverse72.com and at shops in Detroit, Berkley, and Grosse Pointe Park, MI, USA. She has worked with Detroit’s Heidelberg Arts Leadership Academy to facilitate the production of zines and other creative work with student creators. Her 2023 art shows are listed below.
