Artist Statement​
 

Oneika’s work has always been informed by her interest in the juncture points of the hand-crafted and the technological in explorations of history, culture and social narratives. Many of the narratives in her earlier work were imaginings, re-inventions and re-readings inspired by experience and locations as well as romanticized memories from literature, cartoons, picture books and fairy tales, magazines and other media. Oneika's current work however increasingly develops into multi and mixed media installations, and by using sound, drawing, video, prints, books and objects, she reclaims and reassembles fragmented experiences and thoughts into new cohesive resolutions and stories. 

 

‘A Natural History’ has been an ongoing project between 2009 and 2014. The body of work includes several videos, digital images, drawings and prints. Usage of photography and drawing via digital and traditional means has provided Oneika with this ability to document and communicate experiences, thought and memory. Even though this work is deeply personal, the feelings of isolation, outsiderness and search for self are a universal human experience. The work uses natural scenery from landscaped park areas, and includes figures and motifs taken from ethnographic photography. It speaks to the fetishization of the primitive and the mystical in a culture.