The Place In-Between

My practice reflects my everyday experiences as a migrant woman of colour in Australia, and within a mixed cultural and social context in which the dominant culture is largely Eurocentric. Hence I named this feeling as The Place in-Between, where I don’t feel either fully connected nor fully isolated from my surroundings or my inherited culture. This floating state of mind often causes confusion and a sense of suffocation.

In this body of work I aim to connect my present context with my past heritage and history so I wrapped my original surface ‘Saree’ in the land of my adopted home (Australia). To do this, I collected native Australian gum tree leaves, bark and flowers to create natural colours with which to dye my sarees. I then layered the dyed saree with imagery using mixed media. Through this material engagement I aim to bring my personal experience together with the universal dimension of life lived in diaspora. It is from that endeavour that I bring my current geographical and social location; my heritage and history; and my family and lived experience into this project. In order to make this process a reality I have chosen all my materials for their metaphoric meanings; my traditional attire, personal faded memories and elements of the Australian landscape have all evolved with the project. Needless to say, I chose the staircase to locate the work, just as I called this feeling The Place in-Between.

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Mother and the Child and their Colourless memories 2, 2021  

mixed media

2750 x 1150 mm

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The Place In-Between 1, 2021  

mixed media 

5500 x 1150 mm

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The Place In-Between 2, 2021  

mixed media 

5500 x 1150 mm

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