Dislocation (2015, Dress Code in Effect, Access Gallery & Avenue )
Identity is something that exists in constant flux; it is shaped by the century, society and culture. It is almost impossible to depict one’s identity with his/her complexities. We are not the same today as were yesterday. Art historically, numerous artists created self-portraits that allowed them to reflect and reevaluate issues of society and to explore the endless complexities of identity.
My proposed work, "Dislocation"(2013) explores the ideas of occupying the in-between space and identity, often questioning how we find ourselves out of place but constantly trying to fit in a new structure and culture. The preconceived rules and expectations, which cause the conflict between different ideologies, make me rethink my old self and in order to shape a new one. Thought the documented performance in a domestic space, I portray the frustrating and torturing experience of adapting into a new place and foreign culture, illustrating the disturbance and process of identity in transformation. The concept of self-portrait brings another layer to the work, even though the self-portrait appears to be unconventional since the bodily gestures are more dominant than the face, this undefined and abstract approach deepens the complexity and the nature of self-portraits.
Home is Elsewhere (2014, Emily Carr University)
This project exploring the idea of home and if it still exists in the 21st century. With globalization and our ability to move from place to place, home does not play a significant role in our lives; it becomes just a place to sleep and eat. It is no longer a place where we daydream and meditate in solitude. People nowadays have lost their connection with the space that they occupy. As an old saying says “you can buy a house but not a home”. People have lost their sense of home, but I find it in old houses that are on the edge of disappearance.
I am attracted to the empty spaces: ambiguous and abstract. They remain mysterious but give room for personal interpretation. They comment on what is hidden and what is visible. I am looking into the complex relationship between spaces and memory and I am trying to find poetry in the fundamental and most intimate places of the city - homes. These spaces reflect back to me with the unseen human intervention that become a metaphor for life and being.
I am looking for a sense of home that I have lost. I question myself: who I am and where I belong. The idea of home becomes invisible and unreachable, it remains in the memories, it remains elsewhere.
