Despite the influence of the Ethiopian modernist heritage, Merikokeb Berhanu’s work is reflected in the works of twentieth-century Western artists’ such as Georgia O’Keeffe and Hilma af Klint, who painted their emotional states following the subconscious and translating their feelings and ideas into abstract symbols. Merikokeb’s practice of representing her own inner world is reminiscent of the symbolists’ desire to escape from reality by expressing dreams and personal visions through color, form, and composition. The artist crystallizes her perception through abstract shapes and thick backgrounds that are intertwined with recurring recognizable elements, ripe fruits, blooming flowers, stylized human forms.
