ARTWORKS BY LOCATION
DOHA, QATAR
Qatar reflects a fabric of cultures and individuals from across the world. As part of this diverse community, I initiated a project interviewing people directly to gain insight into how their respective culture, background and experiences have shaped their beliefs, motivations, and future aspirations. For my ongoing “Qatar Stories” project I use a series of set questions through a conversational approach to ask what someone’s background was like, why they moved to Qatar, and what impact Qatar has had on them. After this process, I interpret each individual’s story using watercolor and stencils that include symbolic representations, and landscapes from their personal history. Representative imagery to convey stories of immigration makes the theme personal and visceral, bringing nuance to the concept of what an "immigrant" is. This illuminates the spirit and experience of who is here in Qatar and how they are contributing to Qatar’s evolving cultural fabric. Both the human condition and landscape itself are important in expressing the essence of a place as it is perceived in any given time. Part of Qatar Stories is capturing the landscape and how it is changing in preparation for the FIFA World Cup 2022™️. Source imagery taken throughout Qatar stylistically represents the rapid pace of development along with distinct architectural features indicative of this land.
TOKYO, JAPAN
Time spent in Tokyo and visiting surrounding parts of Japan is remembered as one of tranquility and peace despite the frantic pace of the modern machine. A pair of lions traditionally stand guard outside the gates of Japanese Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in pairs, one with mouth open and one with mouth shut. The opened/closed mouth relates to Ah (open mouth) and Un (closed mouth). “Ah" is the first sound in the Japanese alphabet, while "N" (pronounced "un") is the last. These two sounds symbolize beginning and end, birth and death, and all possible outcomes (from alpha to omega) in the cosmic dance of existence. Similarly, this simple complexity can be found throughout layers of existence in Japan as temples are hidden amongst skyscrapers, the chaos of nature bowed to the serenity of a Japanese garden, and the people themselves working tirelessly yet continually poised.
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
South Korea is the land of “bali, bali!” This means “fast” in Korean and often said to speed things up. Certainly since the end of the Korean War in 1953, the country continually pushed itself to emerge as the fastest growing GDP per capita in the world between 1980-1990. This mentality sets an undertone for all aspects of city life. Noticeably, businesses are set up and torn down within only a few months in Seoul as change is ready and quickly coming around every corner. Living amongst this pace, and abroad for the first time, instilled a level of daily anxiety that drawing from life helped alleviate while exploring the landscapes, people, and culture of Seoul. Sitting with pencil in hand, I was able to observe what was in front of me, slow down into that moment, and contemplate the complexity of what I was experiencing for the first time in a vastly different culture from the US.
ACROSS THE US
This is the country in which I was born and shaped many of my ingrained perspectives on life. Perhaps it can be difficult to fully see ourselves if we don’t step outside of ourselves at some point in our lives? Without the experience of having lived abroad in cultures outside my own, it would be more difficult to feel what it means to be an American. More so, given the size of the US there is not one place we can point to and say “this is America.” Every region has its own personality. Growing up in the Midwest and living in the West Coast were comparative experiences in just how distinct regional mentalities can be. Traveling across the US several times further deepened the awareness of just how distinct the landscapes and the people can be.
