Centering on the tension between modern Tausug identity amidst the larger Philippine nation and ancestral memory that draws from the oral traditions of the Sultanate era, the intricate framing of her works depicting flourishes normally associated with European sensibilities actually exposes its Indo-Iranian roots that traveled into the Sulu archipelago and throughout the lands of modern Western empires.

The roots of such aesthetics have largely been lost in the mass consciousness. Thus, the emergence of roots and branches from her subjects become a recurring element in her paintings. In effect, these portraits are a response to ongoing attempts at cultural submission.