Reflections of Identity and Connection with Samara Couri

In this episode of Women United ART PODCAST, Mona Lerch sits down with Samara Couri — a London-born, Hawai‘i-based artist whose luminous mirror paintings blur the boundaries between self and world, mythology and material, art and empathy.Samara’s journey has taken her from the studios of London’s City & Guilds Art School to the vibrant natural landscapes of Honolulu, where her work continues to evolve in dialogue with light, movement, and reflection. Painting directly onto mirrors, Samara transforms them from objects of vanity into portals of awareness — inviting viewers to quite literally see themselves inside the artwork.Together, we explore how her practice bridges the figurative and the spiritual, from cinematic influences that shaped her early experimentation to her current explorations of Akua, the Hawaiian deities she interprets as living reflections of nature’s cycles and human interconnectedness. Samara shares how her experiences of migration, identity, and belonging have informed her art, and what it means to build empathy and self-recognition through visual reflection.We also talk about the beauty and technical challenges of painting on mirrors, the vulnerability of immersive installations, and the role of mythology in healing our relationship with the Earth.This conversation is an invitation to look closer — at art, at nature, and ultimately, at yourself.🎙️ Tune in to discover how Samara Couri turns reflection into revelation.SAMARA COURIwww.samaracouri.comIG: @samara_couriThis show is brought to you by Women United ART MOVEMENT, a global platform highlighting women in the arts through a wide range of opportunities such as solo and group exhibits, annual art prize for women artists, and quarterly publication.www.womenunitedartmovement.com@womenunited_art_movement@womenunited_art_magazine