Inspired by the women of Somalia, Ubax holds a quiet but profound tension — between surface and history, between visible beauty and unseen suffering. She is soft and she is resilient, and the painting refuses to separate the two. Named after the Somali word for “flower,” this work is an act of honoring — dedicated to the women and girls who have endured profound pain and subjugation, from FGM to forced marriage and other forms of control visited upon their bodies and lives. The bark beneath her is not incidental; it is chosen. It roots her. It says she was here, she persisted, and she is worth remembering.

Created on natural tree bark, its live edges are preserved as a record of time and origin – evoking the feeling of an heirloom.