“We Are Already Together”
Qaumaniq Suuqiina
La Quinta, California
Social Media Handles
Qaumaniq Robin Suuqiina
Indolent systemic mastocytosis (ISM)
Twist: There is no “silver bullet” so I can stop looking for one and focus on quality of life and manageability of the disease. It has forced me to deal with my own mortality for 37 years now with the disease. As difficult as that is, it has taught me that our time here is finite and to cherish every moment. I’ve learned that in life there is both joy and suffering and to balance the tension of the two within my hands.
Mahwish Syed
New York, NY
https://www.msd-ny.com/
@mahwish_syed_designs
“We Are Already Together”
Mixed Media: Plaster, Silk, Paper, Roses, Paint
26 5/8″w x 22 3/4″h x 4″d
$3,333
Artist Statement: Paradise is a garden, and in that paradise, we are all already together. Qaumaniq is a gardener, and a deeply reverent soul. What she shared with me as we grew closer as fellow initiates into the divine mystery of our bodies was no less than earth-shattering. You see—living with systemic mastocytosis for as many decades as this inspiring and resilient woman has, you learn how to be your own gardener.
“You must be your own gardener, cultivate yourself.” My words are screen-printed on silk, a fiber that is both delicate yet incredible tensile in strength, much like Qaumaniq. She cultivates from the inside out, afire with determination, radiant with love for her family, and alchemizing her pain into purpose.
Roses are known throughout history to be messengers of love. They have evolved for the past thirty-five million years and were so valuable that they were bartered with gold in the seventeenth century. I learned that we shared our deep love for roses and the peace that tending to them brings. That is why I added real roses that I dried myself to my art piece. They are ephemeral, much like our pain. I welcome you to add your own flower to this ever-evolving display. Art doesn’t have to be precious but an active part of your meditation.
Qaumaniq actively creates her beauty, her paradise. Even in the midst of excruciating pain. She is a flame-bearer in more ways than one. In her paradise, her garden, there is no separation between loved ones, between life and death, between love and pain. It is all part of that dark, fecund soil where she germinates her desires for unity. I used elements from my fashion and interior design to hybridize a new cultivar—one that celebrates both Qaumaniq’s fragility and strength.