Q Train

by Melina Ahmad

“The practice of finding beauty within a young, disabled body has been integral to my work. The relationship between mind and body is complicated, and often emotionally fraught. Whether due to disability, gender identity, race, self-image, or something else entirely, it is common for people to contemplate and quarrel with the state, appearance, or biology of their body. My work centers sculptural and watercolor representations of the human form, in all its imperfection and beauty. Often, I incorporate images of nature into my work, referencing human biology, decaying or fragmented images, or plants in order to explore the body’s intricacy. With non-traditional materials and colors, I depict the body’s inherent flaws as objects of beauty, rather than shame. Using the unique bodies of myself and my peers as subjects worthy of honoring, I strive to make space for viewers to navigate their own relationship to their bodies, viewing every cell as art in itself, as I have learned to do.”