"Mending Cracks: Beyond" looks beyond my personal experience to others’ experiences of trauma. At the beginning of this new journey, I look at the struggles of the oppressed, the expression of protest, and the experience of pain. The series of 'portraits'¾because they are more gestural, and relational than a traditional portrait¾I am working on portrays people from various places, from Palestine to Delhi, from British Columbia to Mexico. These paintings/drawings are done with careful detail in a miniature-like style, with figures accompanied as much by absences as by presences. Each image is inspired by incidents of the descent into violence and the fight against oppression in different parts of the world. Some look at confrontations at the Gaza and others at the Trans Mountain pipeline, and the rest are about Standing Rock, Idle No More, etc. Next, I intend to work on large-scale canvasses incorporating classical European painting style.