My artistic process often begins with observing narrative threads interwoven within familial dynamics. These acute observations inspire artworks that transcend individuality articulating broader, universal themes. Becoming, is an autobiographical exploration that hopes to blur the boundaries between personal and collective. In this project, I turn the lens towards my family capturing awkward, loving, humorous, and uncanny moments in their newly acquired home.
My father's dream of purchasing a permanent residence for our nomadic family has been a longstanding aspiration. After a decade in the United States, he finally stumbled upon an affordable house that, ironically, had been left vacant for over a decade by its previous owners.
The crumbling architecture of the house with its outdated interior design points to a unique opportunity to meditate on the passage of time as it relates to the concept of place. The parallels between the violent markings of time on this house and the imagined fate of my childhood home in Iran, which we abruptly left behind, are striking.
At the project's core lie profound questions I wish to pose: When does the tireless quest for belonging reach its conclusion, and where does the true essence of home commence? Does a nomadic body find belonging through purchasing a piece of the land in which it is alien? Does ownership automatically equate to belonging, or is this quest an eternal one? When and where does one find the permission to truly belong? These explorations resonate with broader socio-political discourses on displacement, memory, and cultural alienation.
