Citizen of a passage

In my thesis project I concentrate on two bodies of art work, both influenced by my complex experiences as an immigrant. Separation from my home country, Iran, and resettlement in the United States has had a great impact on the content of my work. I examine the culture of the Iranian community living in the United States, specifically the challenge of establishing a hybridized cultural identity outside of Iran. In this thesis, I reference Amar Singh's diary narratives, which define identity formation, based on separation and alienation in "self as other." Through his experience of detachment, he distinguishes his way of studying his own community and gains "authenticity" in his awareness of his own culture. The condition of my expatriation is represented through the process of collage, which serves as a metaphor for fragmentation, reconfiguration and the resourcefulness of immigrants. The disparate pieces of collage are pieced together to depict the concept of forming a hybrid identity. Using T.J Demos' analysis of Marcel Duchamp's condition as a point of reference, I draw parallels between Duchamp's work and my installation Absence, consisting of multiple empty paper suitcases that explore the contradiction of desire and restraint (Demos 6)