Artist Statement

Since the inception of the cosmos, existence has been defined by movement. Life on Earth emerged from this primordial flux; humans, in turn, began their trajectory on the African continent, weaving a history defined by migrations across land and sea.

Before the construct of the ‘nation-state,’ all beings drifted across the Earth with a primal fluidity. Today, movement persists but is governed by ‘stricter’ parameters. While motion is an inevitable cosmic pattern, human definitions often transmute it into a mechanism for exploitation, even within our purportedly ‘post-colonial’ era. 

Mella’s work challenges inherited social presumptions, interrogating how perception is conditioned and manipulated through language, ‘common sense,’ and institutional narratives. They focus on how writing performs as a medium that converges with materiality, interacting with ink, fibers, or digital screens. By exploring the sculptural potential of language, Mella investigates how materiality assists in conveying ideas through the delicate, physical interaction between the viewer and the proposition.