ABOUT PIA (PISTOL)

My work is bold, vibrant, and colorful—it takes up space. It reflects my warm, passionate, and ambitious personality. My deepest desire is to create fully immersive spaces where the audience can experience storytelling that highlights the lives of the Afro-diaspora and LGBTQ communities, and our connection to the spirit of living things, like Mother Earth. I aim for you to experience the subject matter through your eyes, ears, nose, taste, and spirit. Spirituality, as well as the cycle of life and death, is a recurring theme in my work.

As a multidisciplinary artist, what unifies all my work is braided hair—a motif that connects my African and Scandinavian roots. In Finland, braids appear in everything from hairstyles to pastries, and in African culture braiding hair is an important part of heritage, with a history that spans thousands of years, they would be used to convey a variety of information, including social status, tribe, wealth, marital status, power, and religion.

Braiding has since become an integral part of my artistic expression. When I began incorporating braids into my costume design, painting, and collage, it brought me a profound sense of cultural connection, which, after all, is the soul of my work.