Saint Nino (Happy Cross) 2022 oil on canvas 54x48 in. (137x122 cm)

The painting originated from my five-month stay in Vietnam at the beginning of the pandemic, when I found myself unexpectedly stranded there. The restrictions were lifted within a few weeks, allowing me to travel and engage with new environments at a time when much of the world was experiencing profound isolation. Once international flights resumed, I returned home to Brooklyn, determined to translate the revelations from my unpredictable nomadic experience onto canvas.

This experience provided a pathway for me to explore the intersections of spirituality, culture, and politics.

Saint Nino was a young woman from Cappadocia who brought Christianity to the ancient Kingdom of Iberia, present-day Georgia. According to legend, she traveled carrying a cross made from grapevine stems bound with her own hair.

Christianity became the state religion of Georgia in 319 AD, replacing centuries of diverse religious practices, including paganism, Zoroastrianism, and Mithraism. This placed Georgia on the front lines of religious conflicts with neighboring Islamic empires, as the country refused to renounce Christianity and defended itself through centuries of invasions.

The imagery of Saint Nino and the cross became the foundation of this project. By creating a more whimsical "AntiCovid" cross, in contrast to traditional depictions of the crucifixion and suffering, I sought to transform this symbol and distance it from histories of religious trauma and the collective anxieties intensified during the pandemic.

By portraying Saint Nino nude and with horns, I subvert both Christian and mythological iconographies, challenging inherited symbols and creating a space where the past can be reconsidered and transformed.