"Painting is not done to decorate apartments. It is an instrument of war.'
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Artist statement
My nom de guerre is Sierra Merda. I am an artist shaped by London’s underground art scene, exploring work that challenges societal norms and celebrates authenticity in defiance of stereotypes.
Like all females, I was born into a world whose power structures—and very language—were shaped by men. My work wrestles with how I, as a female, can reclaim that language to speak. Earlier paintings reveal anger and rebellion, echoing the cultural weight of “women as victims” of societal pressures. Yet, through relentless practice, my work has shifted toward celebration: of survival, resilience, and triumph over subjugation. My work seeks to find beauty there, where we have never been told it is beautiful. I paint individuals who society does not expect to be loved. The beauty I capture is human, messy, resistant, and represents uncanny archetypes. My works insist: survival is nothing less than triumph. Beauty doesn’t float above the world—it walks it, wounded and unapologetic, holding us as we hold it.
My artworks aim to reclaim the space that was historically reserved for a few. They subvert classical ideas of beauty and pull it off the white pedestal into the street, throwing it into daily embodiment—where it belongs. Inclusivity and the reflection of marginalised voices have become crucial points in my practice. However, beneath the sometimes satirical or ironic surface of my work lies a profound sadness and personal experience. Each canvas is both plea and protest, exploring the relationship between beauty and pain, obsession and mental health—the beauty of survival. Through painting, I seek to give form to experiences that resist simplification, where beauty and pain coexist, and where vulnerability becomes a form of resistance.
Like all females, I was born into a world whose power structures—and very language—were shaped by men. My work wrestles with how I, as a female, can reclaim that language to speak. Earlier paintings reveal anger and rebellion, echoing the cultural weight of “women as victims” of societal pressures. Yet, through relentless practice, my work has shifted toward celebration: of survival, resilience, and triumph over subjugation. My work seeks to find beauty there, where we have never been told it is beautiful. I paint individuals who society does not expect to be loved. The beauty I capture is human, messy, resistant, and represents uncanny archetypes. My works insist: survival is nothing less than triumph. Beauty doesn’t float above the world—it walks it, wounded and unapologetic, holding us as we hold it.
My artworks aim to reclaim the space that was historically reserved for a few. They subvert classical ideas of beauty and pull it off the white pedestal into the street, throwing it into daily embodiment—where it belongs. Inclusivity and the reflection of marginalised voices have become crucial points in my practice. However, beneath the sometimes satirical or ironic surface of my work lies a profound sadness and personal experience. Each canvas is both plea and protest, exploring the relationship between beauty and pain, obsession and mental health—the beauty of survival. Through painting, I seek to give form to experiences that resist simplification, where beauty and pain coexist, and where vulnerability becomes a form of resistance.