Nowhere But Here (Three Women)

Move forward, go back. Stay in, go out. Do this, don’t do that.

Overwhelming paralysis marked the beginning of the COVID19 pandemic, throwing the future into doubt seemingly overnight. To leave home was to perhaps invite contagion, yet being locked in was frightening. Uncertainty ultimately gave way to grief, reopening old wounds as death tolls and infection rates climbed every higher at every stage of the pandemic.

Conversely, this transformed into a time of healing and gratitude, for family and friendships, for those who marched bravely for racial justice, for the conversations around ways forward. Suddenly, the everyday became inspirational. Quiet moments were filled with grace, daily walks motivating for both art and mental health. A difficult year became one about togetherness and belonging. On a personal note, this has been a year of deep introspection as an artist and a person, drawing me closer to the most important people in my life, while expanding my art practice.

Nowhere But Here (Three Women), similarly to my work from the past year, is personal and semi-autobiographical. It is my response to a pandemic that everyone has experienced at the same time, though not necessarily in the same way. I have spent this past year at home isolating with my family comprising my mother, my sister, and our dog. Domesticity is integral to my practice; thus, my work serves as a continuous pandemic diary. My own exploration of where exactly I belong, straddling two different cultures and religions as I do, whilst living in a third culture, is something I continue to examine. A year of confinement at home has brought forth these themes in my work. Thus, I am memorialising the small things, the domestic details, the quiet moments that emerged in the horrific tragedy of the COVID19 pandemic.