Deja Belardo is a multi-media painter and muralist from St. Croix, V.I. Using acrylic paint for its vibrancy and collage as a metaphor for bringing people together, their work challenges perception and subjectivity. Best described as visual journalism, Deja’s work is shaped by their political science background and exploration of color theory. In their paintings, Belardo sees the multi-media use of textiles, text, and printmaking as a direct reference to the interconnectedness of human experience. Their work explores the medium of painting, through both figurative and abstraction as a method of challenging the way people connect, especially at cross sections of intersectional identity. Their art practice is centered on conversations with people in their surrounding community while examining migration, colonialism, gentrification, and its effect on sexual and gender-based identity and expression. Deja’s work uses visual narratives to recount the stories of people who fall in the forgotten and disregarded margins of society. The subjects of the paintings are from diverse backgrounds and experiences, but importantly, a genuine connection to the subject is necessary, so that the person’s humanity may be translated in the work without objectifying them.