Artist’s Statement “My mother was the first country I ever lived in.” ~ Nizar Qabbani Since childhood, I have been fascinated by my mother’s body. Every night, when I missed her during her long work shifts, I would smell her clothes — a habit that has never left me. To me, my mother is a clear embodiment of nature itself. Her body, shaped and worn by the births of three children, carries the traces of time and devotion. She may lack confidence and try to hide what she calls the “flaws” of her body, yet to me she has always been the image of a serene, fragrant, and tender landscape.