Culture Bloom Creative Showcase

I wrote this partially in response to the hatred spreading through Australia right now. Creating a representation to all, that every single person is diverse within themselves and only through this diversity can we grow stronger and pass strength to the next generation through acceptance, care and love.

I am the resulting bloom of many grafts. I hold numerous grafts from the oldest, continuing peoples on Earth. I hold grafts from the very people that colonised their country and tried to crush them. I hold grafts from colonisers and the colonised the world over. These grafts have made me more diverse than a tropical rainforest, blooming with rich diversity in every season.

I have branches that vary in width and length. Many branches are thin now, shaded from the sun by branches that came later. Some branches are strong, stronger than the trunk of many. Taking the sun and vitamins from those they could, from those that went unused. Some branches are short; their terminal buds removed, some by winds or rain, others by man-made devices. Many branches are long, creating a forest of diversity as their pollen spreads and creates new blooms.

My own trunk, though neglected as a sapling, has grown strong and continues to grow, with no rot to be found. It has become a home for smaller creatures and a safe place for all to rest and heal. My trunk grows sturdier as I support new life, new blooms… each diversified from the other and each relying on my continual support and nutrients.

My roots have stretched across the Earth and I have delved into places explored and unexplored. I leave my mark in each place I move through, no matter how short my stay. Spring growth leaves the same path as winter growth, each allowing me to grow stronger, to bloom brighter and longer than the season before… still supporting the new blooms beside me.

As these new lives grow and bloom, they too shall grow stronger and taller. They too shall spread their roots, grow their branches and thicken their trunks. Inevitably I shall decline. My trunk will not grow anymore, nor will my branches or roots. My blooms will slow, until I am no longer blooming for all the world and with all the world. These new lives, a continuation of my grafts and blooms, combined with the grafts and blooms of a life from farther than I have reached, one I grew to know and understand, will present themselves stronger and brighter than us both. Their blooms shall join the blooms of the world, strong and proud of each part of them.

Theyyam + Bharatanatyam + Dance Video

This entry highlights diverse performance traditions. Theyyam, a ritual art from Kerala(India) blends mythology and devotion, while Bharatanatyam is a classical dance form which is usually performed in groups with no boundaries, expressing stories through rhythm and gesture. Both forms, though culturally distinct, share themes of peace, unity, and human connection, showing how diverse traditions bloom together across the world.

“One World, Many Blooms” represents unity through diversity. The face blends different cultural identities, patterns, and traditional elements to show how every heritage adds its own beauty to the world. The surrounding flowers are inspired by blooms from around the world, symbolizing the global richness of culture, nature, and identity. Together, they reflect how people everywhere grow, flourish, and contribute to one shared world.

This piece was drawn on A3 size paper using graphite pencils (2B, 3B, 5B, 8B), Micron ink pens (005, 01, 02, 03, 05, 08), and a soft charcoal pencil, and took me approximately 20 hours to complete.

The original artwork is available anytime for physical viewing if needed.

In the centre the pied currawong (my favourite Australian bird) represents Australian culture and the bay leaf in its mouth Greek culture (it is used in many Greek dishes). The artwork is a culmination my growth and the two parts of myself coming together (the bird holding the bay leaf) with the flower surrounding them to illustrate the blooming of my cultural identity as I felt split between the two cultures. Cross-stitch, crochet, sewing and quilting techniques were used.