Describe your artmaking practice.
Currently I am creating digital photomontages using photographs I have taken over the years and simultaneously also creating sculptural forms from old light fixtures. Both methods of working are very different, but I enjoy the process of each practice. I am interested in ideas of how identity of the self is influenced by spatial environments, transmigration and connection to multiple places. I love using ‘old’ materials, whether its photographs or light fixtures, to make art because they already have the multiple layers of history embedded within them.
When, how and why did you get into it?
After my cousin’s untimely death a few years ago, I reflected on the value of photographs and how they hold time almost ‘still’ in that moment where someone is alive but in reality, is not. I initially started working with a photograph I had of him as a way of dealing with the grief. When I started my master’s studies last year, I came across Tatiana Tavares’ ‘Carnival Land: Immigrating Bricolage’, which inspired me immensely and I began to use photographs to create digital narratives. I began experimenting initially as a way of exploring other ways to generate art from my vast digital memory. Initially it was challenging moving from sculpture into digital works, but eventually I have come to love this process that allows me to combine my love for photography and storytelling into one.
What ideas do you explore through your art?
The themes I explore are often women centric and speak of the displacement, dislocation, renegotiation and transformation that happens due to transmigration. In what ways do migrant women negotiate between their ethnic and host cultural environments? The work is derivative of my own experiences and I am constantly asking questions through my artmaking process. I see art as a way of communicating ideas but also a point to generate discussions around topics that concern individuals on a daily basis.
Who/what influences you as an artist?
Too many people have influenced me and I have curiosity of too many things.
Of what are you proudest so far?
I am finally learning to become a lot more decisive and that is something I am very proud of right now.
What are your plans for the future?
Embrace the life of a starving artist and just going for it. I have put off being an artist for too long, for the fear of not having the financial security, but now I have come to realise that I wouldn’t live through life any other way. So, the plan for the future is to just go for it!
What about the local scene would you change?
I would like to create social interactions between people who are socially isolated and also remove stigmas around mental illness.
What are your upcoming exhibitions?
I am currently exhibiting at M16 Artspace. The exhibition is called Liminal Landscapes and it is my first solo show. After this I hope to go to Switzerland and spend three months travelling. Then in November I will be part of the Grad Show at ANU, where I will be showing the work I did during my Master of Visual Arts.
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