I.C.E Cold

ICE Cold

ICE Cold portrays a proud Native American woman set against a background divided into dark and light green. The split field is deliberate: it reflects the deep divisions shaping our world today—most visibly in the United States, but with consequences that ripple far beyond its borders and are felt keenly in Europe and elsewhere.

I am neither Native American nor American. This painting is not an attempt to speak for anyone, but to respond to what I am witnessing. Contemporary U.S. politics increasingly influence global culture, policy, and human lives, and it feels impossible to stand entirely outside that impact.

Why a Native American woman? She represents dignity, endurance, and truth at the foundation of a nation built on contested ground. The work is informed by a slogan rooted in Native American and Indigenous rights activism—later echoed in popular culture by Billie Eilish—“Nobody is illegal on stolen land.” The words cut through political language and point to a deeper historical reality.

The woman’s gaze is calm and unyielding. She does not ask for permission to exist. In ICE Cold, the coolness is not indifference; it is clarity. A still, unwavering presence in the midst of division, reminding us that history lives beneath every border we draw today.