BeLovingKindness is a digital collage series that reframes compassion as a daily, deliberate act-something lived, claimed, and practiced in real time. Created using original photography and with layered typography, these works invite viewers to pause and rediscover presence in overlooked places and passing moments.

Drawn from environments in Chicago, Madison, New Orleans, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and New York, I photograph street level scenes-mailboxes, trains, gumball machines, trash bins, chairs, trees-and reframe them as metaphors. These are not merely images but visual meditations, paired with poetic fragments from Metta practice and personal reflection: “May I be grounded,” “May you be safe,” “You are not a machine.” Words and images interact not as captions, but as layered signifiers, sometimes harmonious, sometimes disruptive, mirroring the complexity of practicing compassion in an accelerating world.

Thematically, the series explores how loving kindness can live in unexpected places. I reframe time and space as gifts rather than pressures. I elevate urban landscapes as fertile ground for connection, letting steel and concrete bloom with empathy. I treat the mundane as sacred: a trash can becomes a metaphor for letting go, a mailbox a prompt to send love, a chair an invitation to take one’s seat in the world. Technology appears not as distraction, but as metaphor. Charging cables, for example, signify both connection and rest, reminders to pause and be present.

My visual approach is influenced by Barbara Kruger’s text and image interplay, Roland Barthes’ theories of signification, and Josep Renau’s photomontage scale. April Greiman’s process driven layering and Ethan Nichtern’s meditation teachings also shape my work. The chair, for instance, became a recurring motif inspired by Nichtern’s idea of “taking your seat,” a metaphor for presence, action, and self acceptance.

Formally, the work uses digital manipulation, long exposure photography, and typographic play to construct compositions that are both meditative and alive. Color palettes shift between earthy tones and electric overlays. Some collages are augmented with QR codes linking to meditations, extending the experience beyond the frame and into a participatory moment of presence.

I have learned that compassion turns bystanders into allies and strangers into neighbors, transforming isolation into belonging. My visual work seeks to offer space for individuals to be present, to pause, and to hold compassion for themselves and others in a world that rarely slows down.