I'm Valerie. I graduated from Yale University with a BA in molecular cellular, developmental biology and art; with a concentration in painting/ printmaking. I'm currently completing an MA at RISD in Global Arts and Culture.

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Utilizing my practice, I hope to imagine a world where everyone defines identity on their own terms. In order to accomplish this, I allow the past to tell me stories of a reality before western distortion. In this process, I’ve eradicated biases that have muffled my sense of self, and true artistic instincts. Contrary to traditional methods, I stitch, weave, cut, animate, and paint—to render a fantastical world with real people from real stories.  

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Undeniably, art stands as the single most introspective tool in my life. It’s helped me muster the strength to learn about myself; and the innate aspects that I simply have no conscious of until I see it brushed on canvas. The main goal of my work is no longer to recreate a surrounding world, but to visually translate my perception of it. For all that cannot be said, I find visual interpretation to be the best vehicle to convey my thoughts, my imagination, and the hopes I carry.

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