“Changing Planes", two-channel video installation, sound, 2023
A two-channel video installation that explores the intricacies of diasporic experience — a journey that has significantly influenced my own life. It aims to convey the inherent duality that arises from straddling different worlds, both internally (within oneself) and externally (within the society one inhabits).
One of the key themes explored in this installation is the fragmented nature of memory and identity that emerges as a result of the pressures of assimilation — modifying your identity, shedding aspects of your heritage to conform to societal expectations, resulting to past memories evolving into something that no longer feels connected to yourself as you get more detached from the environment in which they were formed.
The title “Changing Planes" is borrowed from Ursula Le Guin's collection of short stories. In Le Guin's stories, each narrative is set in an airport lounge, where travelers have the ability to access different planes of existence. Each plane represents a distinct society, culture, and set of rules. It mirrors the process of changing planes in a physical journey, transitioning between destinations.
The act of changing planes, in this context, symbolizes movement, transformation, and a perpetual state of transition — navigating multiple realities and the internal shifts required to assimilate into a new culture while still retaining elements of one's original identity.
One of the key themes explored in this installation is the fragmented nature of memory and identity that emerges as a result of the pressures of assimilation — modifying your identity, shedding aspects of your heritage to conform to societal expectations, resulting to past memories evolving into something that no longer feels connected to yourself as you get more detached from the environment in which they were formed.
The title “Changing Planes" is borrowed from Ursula Le Guin's collection of short stories. In Le Guin's stories, each narrative is set in an airport lounge, where travelers have the ability to access different planes of existence. Each plane represents a distinct society, culture, and set of rules. It mirrors the process of changing planes in a physical journey, transitioning between destinations.
The act of changing planes, in this context, symbolizes movement, transformation, and a perpetual state of transition — navigating multiple realities and the internal shifts required to assimilate into a new culture while still retaining elements of one's original identity.