ME - Maximalist Expression - How being multiethnic, multicultural and polylingual makes me, me.

My works explore the way in which my ethnic and linguistic identities manifest themselves in my personality and everyday life. Through paying detailed attention to facial features, notably the mouth, I allude to the deep connection I have with being multiethnic.

My mother is French and American (her parents are Persian and Egyptian) and my father is Persian and American (his parents are Persian). While I am lucky to experience the love and joy of both cultures, I often find myself navigating between three very separate worlds - which can be tiring at times.

In many of my pieces, the explosions of color (made up of gems, glue, glitter, and paint) serve to highlight the joy but also the overwhelmingness that comes with my diverse background. In others (metallic bronze, gold, grey) and the holes in the mouth allude to the idea of a jail cell - feeling trapped between cultures and languages. I also touch on particular parts of my heritage as well as the idea of a split identity. 

Even though all my pieces deconstruct the human face in some way, they all convey different realities and hard truths about the key elements that make me who I am.