This painting is based on a 1997 photograph of my brother Issac and me, taken by our foster care mother, Carolyn McCartney, overlooking the Athabasca River in Fort McMurray, Alberta. The colors reflect Issac’s preferences and our late 90s hand-me-down clothing.

My recent visit home after my gender transition and the 2016 wildfire influenced the painting’s imagery. I transformed the natural landscapes into haunting charred remains, symbolizing my family's resilience and acknowledging the environmental and cultural impacts of colonization.