Born in the US a child of immigrants in the 70s, Soumiya never fit in to either homeland, despite being connected both. Feeling like an outsider, Othered, she sought out a way in. That dive into human existence and connection drives her work. The linguistics of mark-making seemed to cross time and space, and gave Soumiya a way to find intersectional communication beyond conventional language. She researches and essential marks from cave paintings to Indian kolam to children's drawings, drawing upon the most poignant symbols to provoke responses and tell stories in her work, through paint or whatever material she may find. She is particularly interested in how much of the work is made by women, be it documentation or meditation and décoration. Symbols that have unlimited potential and work in repetition are the most interesting, as they create rhythm and become More. She uses these marks to create work that is both immediately visceral, drawing you down the rabbithole into her mindscapes.