Seeped in bejeweled colors, The Tales We Tell is an on-going series of digital collages aiming to unlock yet another layer of understanding in classic fairy tales such as The Emperor's New Clothes, The Princess and the Pea, Goldielocks and the Three Bears, The Little Mermaid, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Cinderella.Relying on bare-bones composition, conceptual visual clues, and a palette that's lush and pulsating with life, these collages are in conversation with the traveling art exhibition Dread & Delight: Fairy Tales in an Anxious World organized by Weatherspoon Art Museum at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro aptly bringing to the foreground the fact that an artistic concept can successfully speak in many distinct voices. Case in point, while Dread & Delight uses a wide range of mediums, including photography, video, paintings and sculptures to explore the idea that there are unsettling lurkers just below the surface in most fairy tales, including issues of marginalization and fair representation, The Tales We Tell present a surreal escapist environment which manages to appear simultaneously inviting and confusing (much like a bona fide fairy tale).Emanating painterly vibes, these collages, brought to life through strictly digital means, take on the social justice - racial & gender inequality perspective that is presently challenging traditional thinking regarding fairy tales in particular and art in general by eschewing the recontextualization of princesses and kings, little girls, maids and witches in favor of mirrors, slippers, apples, beds, hooks, and fish tales that are wrapped in flowers and made to float serenely in vibrant shades of green as a stand-in for what is truly timeless, evolving yet fundamentally unchangeable, much like nature, ever-present and relatable to any and all at a deep and instinctual level.

• Visual Influences

Dread & Delight: Fairy Tales in an Anxious World - exhibition organized by Weatherspoon Art Museum at the University of North Carolina.

Conceptual Illustration - a complex and multifaceted endeavor that involves idea development through methods, drawing, 2D design priciples, cultural references and stylistic choices positioned in context to the audience.