THE OTHER IN ME
The Other in Me
"One thinks of identity whenever one is not sure of where one belongs." - Zygmunt Bauman
In today's global world, moving around has become cheaper, working nearly anywhere is possible and geographic boundaries are losing their relevance. Many of us today are in constant movement, refusing to accept the static nature of the traditional way of living. Running a semi-nomadic lifestyle, we move often from country to country as we would from house to house, creating new temporary homes consisting of an ever growing fusion of cultures with which we identify. Like tourists, we are on the move, we are everywhere we go in, but nowhere of the place we are in.
The Other in Me project is a video installation composed of videos and still photographs that explores the notions of displacement, belonging, nostalgia, identity and otherness. Due to the geographic fluidity, being neither here nor there, many of us suffer from confusion about our
cultural roots. While in a state of "in-betweeness" we search for a real connection to a place and definition of our identity.
What is it that defines us? Is it the place of our birth? Language? Culture? Community? Is identity tied to a specific geographic location? Is it portable? If you have left the country of your birth are you the same person you have always been, or do you become a hybrid of many new identities?
Guided by an interest in architecture and habitation, I focus on the interiors of diasporic homes. The condition and décor of our apartments and houses say a lot about us and can perhaps be said to serve as a microscope into one's soul. By photographing spaces and people that have relocated to the United States from other countries, be it by necessity or by choice, I want to examine the sense of belonging in today's disjointed world.
Related PROJECTS
Inhabited
The world's cultures may be very different, but when seen through a consistent lens in terms of simple geometry, the complexities of cultural variation fall away. Here I turn my camera onto the ordinary details of everyday life.
Where You End and I Begin
An exploreration of physical and spiritual borders and the difficulty of crossing both. Inspired by my personal situation of living between two cultures, the work questions the transformative quality of moving away while looking back.
6,654 kilometers / 4,135 miles
Three-channel video installation focusing on borders and the bridging of distances. A ritualistic mixing of water from the place of my birth with the water from the place I currently reside in as a metaphor for my own hybrid identity.