The P-P-P Powow!

Artist’s StatementThe use of symbolism, dress, terminology or commonly used phrases that implicate an overt sense of loyalty to a single entity connotes my personal history and undertakes a glimpse into the ramifications of migration, both literal and mental. In a rabid combination of embroidery, all-American hot iron branding, Amish fashion, drunken hipsters in leather, sacred Islamic numerology, and gangsta-bling, my current work envelops a narcisstic pledge of allegiance to very cultures that I have assimilated to.The acceptance of my lineage entailed a series of iterations, each of which serves as an individual element in an attempt to address the sense of place and belonging in my work. As a youth, I spent a period of a year teaching Sunday school and attending church in the working class, white, Pennsylvanian neighborhood where I was raised. The chalky flavor of the communion bread still lingers on my palate. A decade of my life, including latter adolescence, was spent convinced I was of Puerto-Rican lineage, as I was overtly obsessed with hip-hop culture and acceptance by blacks and Hispanics. In fact, I was born into a Shiite Muslim family of Iranian descent. Frequent travels between Iran and the United States felt more like visiting an estranged surrogate mother with partial custody. In short, the relationship was slow to mature. The ability to interpret Western and Middle Eastern cultures from a wide lens functions as a remote control in my ideas. I am interested in investigating the tendency for the human psyche to subscribe to specific categorizations, or subcultures, in response to feelings of ambivalence, uncertainty and/or anxiety.