Mestiso Manifesto #19

If you’ve been keeping up with the content on my IG, you’ll have seen the series of reels I’ve been posting for the past four weeks where I properly introduce myself, explain what I do as an artist, and the concepts and themes of my work. I don’t have any other reel content planned at this stage, and I’m not someone who wants to be chained to making content for an algorithm as I like to be more purposeful with what I share. I’m still not sold on devoting a lot of time to content creation as I would rather spend that time on my actual arts practice. That’s not to say I won’t be making any more reels; I just need a good reason to make them.

Overall, it was a good learning experience creating reels as it’s not something I normally do, but I would like to do more of it.  I like that it allows me to engage and connect with everyone who appreciates my work, especially those who don’t attend many or any of my exhibitions in person.

Of course, I will continue with writing my monthly blog post as a lot happens in a month and writing is a good processing tool for me.

I have yet to return to my studio and I’m finding it hard to return the longer I’m away. The last time I completed a work was in January of 2025, so it’s been just over a year now and I’m starting to feel guilt over it. My physical health has been the main barrier, and by extension, the amount of money I’m spending on appointments, treatments and tests. This impacts my capability to create and the resources I have available to invest in my practice.

Living with chronic physical conditions can be quite draining and has now reached the point where it’s becoming quite debilitating to my mental health. I’m doing all that I can to persevere, but it’s a daily challenge not to burst into tears. I’m constantly having to tell myself that all of this will pass, and I will come out the other side just as functional as I was before all these health issues began.

Health issues aside, the ideas for work have been flowing back into my mind over the last few months, which is a good sign, and creating the reels has really helped me revisit and ground myself back into my practice.

I have established a concept for a new body of work and I’m using this work as the foundation of a new solo show. I’m currently fleshing out a proposal and working on some more research, but I’m at the stage where I’m starting to look for a place to exhibit, which I hope I’m able to do in the latter half of this year.

Once I secure a location, I’ll share more details.