Mya Dempster

About Mya Dempster

I am a multidisciplinary artist working primarily in painting, mixed media, photography, and fashion. My practice centers on emotional depth, cultural identity, naturalness, and self-transformation. I use visual storytelling, symbolism, and the human figure to explore the experiences, relationships, memories, and cultural influences that shape how we see ourselves and one another. I am especially interested in the stories we carry internally and the ways those stories become visible through the body, environment, and personal expression. My practice moves across mediums because I see each one as another way to communicate an idea, feeling, or experience. Through my work, I hope to create imagery that feels intimate and honest while inviting viewers to reflect on their own stories and what they carry with them.

Artist Statement

My practice is rooted in experimentation across mediums, surfaces, and forms of visual storytelling. I primarily work in painting, particularly using acrylic, while also incorporating mixed media, dry media, photography, fashion, and printmaking. My most recent exploration of printmaking has included processes such as carving into cardboard and creating paper cutouts, allowing me to continue discovering new ways of translating ideas into physical form.

Across these mediums, I explore themes of identity, memory, cultural identity, emotional depth, self-transformation, and the experiences that shape who we become. I do not believe these subjects can be communicated through one fixed medium or visual language. Each material and surface offers a different way to approach a conversation, so I allow my style to expand and shift alongside the ideas I am exploring. My process is intentionally experimental because emotion and identity are not linear; they are constantly changing, evolving, and revealing new layers of ourselves.

At the center of my practice is a desire to reveal the things that live within us; the memories, relationships, cultures, emotions, and experiences that quietly shape our understanding of ourselves. I believe that looking inward and becoming more conscious of our own experiences can also deepen our empathy for others. Although every person’s story is unique, the act of questioning, discovering, and becoming who we are is a deeply human and universal experience. Through my work, I hope to create space for that reflection and to connect individual stories to the larger, shared experience of being human.