Your Reflection in My Life

"Your Reflection in My Life" addresses the self-censorship experienced due to cultural disconnection, encompassing language use, customs, gender expectations, and beliefs. This phenomenon is described by scholars as "never being ‘of’ anything" (Edward Said), "double consciousness" (Paul Gilroy), and "inbetweenness" (Homi Bhabha and Trinh T. Minh-ha). Reflecting my post-migration cultural hybridity, the work highlights my mental and emotional existence between my homeland and my current home for nearly a decade. Trinh describes this experience as living in "two and many non-opposing worlds... all located in the very same place as where one is."

The piece comprises three artworks, each inscribed with: "I live in-between," "Elsewhere within here," and "I speak silence." These phrases aim to evoke the ways cultural hybridity silences migrants, causing them to feel disconnected from both their past and present socio-cultural contexts. The materials and process for this piece are crucial in conveying this idea. Inspired by Elizabeth Cerviño's "Mallas (Nets)" and Anish Kapoor's hexagonal mirror installation, I combined aluminum nets and mirrors to symbolize protection and self-reflection.

The viewer encounters three horizontal concave mirrors covered with mesh, hung at eye level. As they approach, they see vague, shimmering text on the mesh, which requires effort to read. The text is created by meticulously pulling parts of letters from the metal mesh with small scissors, symbolizing the pressure and effort involved in self-censorship. This process also mirrors migrants' challenges in slowly pressing into their adopted society.

The viewer reads the phrases "live in-between," "Elsewhere within here," and "I speak silence" from left to right. The concave mirrors create two symmetrical reflections of the viewer's face, which converge as they move closer. However, the clearer the reflection, the harder it is to read the text, requiring the viewer to shift their position to see the words clearly. This interplay between reflection and readability forces the viewer to lose sight of their own image and see another perspective.

"Your Reflection in My Life" invites viewers to change their location to gain a new perspective, metaphorically reflecting the impact of others in migrants' lives. Hung opposite "Morality," which uses the extra wire bits from the mesh, the positioning places viewers "in-between" the two works. This asks them to connect the relationship between a migrant woman's self-censorship and the feeling of not being at home. The interplay of reflections highlights the material and conceptual connections between the two artworks, encouraging viewers to consider their role and perspective in the migration process and the silence it engenders.