Ajeenah Sommerville

Ajeenah Sommerville

My work begins in quiet moments—when there is enough stillness to notice what is being carried beneath the surface. I create sculptural and wall-based works that explore movement and restraint, allowing form to emerge through patience rather than force.

I am drawn to the spaces between action and pause, where something continues to move even when it appears to rest. Much of the work reflects my own relationship with time, memory, and responsibility—how experiences accumulate, how emotions linger, and how presence is often shaped by what remains unspoken. The work becomes a way of holding those moments, giving them form without needing to explain them.

Working primarily with resin and mixed materials, I allow the process itself to guide each piece. Gravity, layering, and surface tension play an active role, asking for trust and attentiveness at every stage. I do not begin with a fixed image of the outcome; instead, I respond to what the material reveals as it settles and takes shape. This approach requires slowing down, listening, and accepting uncertainty as part of the work.

Space is central to how the work is experienced. I consider how a piece will exist within a room—how light moves across it, how scale affects the body, and how it might quietly alter the atmosphere around it. My intention is not to fill space, but to create moments of pause within it—places where the viewer can breathe, reflect, and feel grounded.

When I create commissioned work, the process becomes deeply collaborative and personal. I take time to understand not only the physical space, but the emotional tone it is meant to hold. These works are created on a limited basis, allowing for care, refinement, and trust to remain at the center of the process.

Ultimately, my work is an invitation—to slow down, to notice what is often overlooked, and to allow stillness to exist alongside movement. Each piece is created with the hope that it offers a quiet sense of presence—one that continues to unfold long after the first encounter.