aparfenen.art

Statement

I came to the United States to be free and discover who I really am.

At first, I thought freedom meant escaping — from the weight of my past, from systems that demanded conformity, from the background noise that stifled me. I chased excellence like it would save me. I built myself as a scientist, as an artist, as a mind always running to the light or running from the dark. I dove into computational biology & cancer genomics and then neuroscience, thinking maybe if I could decode life at its smallest scale, I could decode everything around me — including my true self.

But freedom isn’t escape... it’s confrontation. It's waking up to who you are even when it hurts. It’s holding your neurodivergence and saying: yes, this is also me. It’s admitting that brilliance doesn’t erase pain. That productivity isn’t identity. That survival isn't the same as living.

Over the past three years, I totally burned out, broke down, stood up again. I faced discrimination, alienation, and internal collapse. I kept creating even when I was falling apart. And slowly, painfully, I began to meet myself.

I’m still learning who I am. A researcher who loves beauty. A woman who doesn’t fit the mold. A survivor. An alien. A system breaker. A mind that sees in layers, even when it doesn’t want to perceive. A person in the deep, destructive process of exploring the universe backwards — from collapse toward meaning.

This is my American story. Definitely not a dream, but a reckoning. I don't know what these mean. But they keep me real. Nice to meet you!

Commissions

I’m open for commissions and custom artwork requests. If you resonate with my style and want something created just for you, feel free to reach out.

Email: ann.parfenen2018@gmail.com

Telegram: @aparfenen

Animalia Forms

Nothing more than Human

Subconscious

Nature

Where We Once Stood

Digital Experiments

Sketches