Kayla Jay

Website: kaylajay.com
Email: kaylajay.tg@gmail.com
Instagram: @jaythagiant

Digbyana (Aunt Gloria), 2026

Oil on canvas
52.8 x 13.5 in.
$600

Artist’s Statement

Rhyncholaelia digbyana is the national flower of Honduras. My grandmother is Honduran, and her father is from Roatan. As a child, I understood my family simply as black. It was not until later that I began to recognize the layered cultural identities within my family lineage. This work explores ancestry, identity, and the process of reconnecting with parts of my heritage that I once overlooked. I was compelled to create it as a way of honoring my Honduran roots and reflecting on how culture and identity are carried through generations. I hand sawed and built the frame from wood left over from my first solo exhibition. Giving the materials a continuation of their own history felt meaningful to me.