Beside Between Beyond 1
Using visual art as a communication tool, I would like to bring awareness to the prevalence of domestic violence, with a highlight on immigrant and refugee communities. Based on knowledge from research, oral traditions, data and interviews, I am working on a domestic violence awareness campaign called Beside Between Beyond. This is a multipart artistic journey of learning and documentation. I was born in India and came to the US in 1998. I am a part of the South Asian immigrant community and over the years, I have realized the lack of resources for vulnerable women within immigrant and refugee communities. The population of foreign-born Asian Indians in the St. Louis metro area has increased by 67 percent since 2000. The women living within these displaced groups are often very vulnerable to domestic abuse. Geographically isolated and bound within a culture that does not accept broken marriages, these populations need a different understanding through which designers can create safe spaces to support and sustain their well being.
I was fortunate to have a supportive spouse to help navigate these difficult times. This got me to think about vulnerable people who are put into these circumstances with an abusive partner. The vulnerability of these individuals was compounded during COVID. I wanted to research support systems in place to assist these individuals. In 2020, I started the process of collecting and collating data about domestic violence which will then be transformed through intricate paper cuts and found object installations into visual art.
Through experimentation between abstract and representation, I cut paper into patterns that fragment and unite the female body. Often, there are clear references to a body part like hair, neck and torso. At other times the patterns are abstract and disconnected. The cutting and removing of the paper is a very violent act. Piercing, tearing and removing are all destructive. But through this act of destruction, I have discovered the transformative idea of creation. There are multiple free hanging forms of papercut installations in this series.
In 2021, I read the statement of an individual going through domestic violence. She mentioned that she was not able to talk to her community for fear of becoming an object of gossip. This statement made me think about how to use awareness and art as a catalyst to bring about societal change. I began collecting donated bangles, a cultural symbol of womanhood and fertility in South Asian culture. Through this process, I engaged with community members through dialogue about creating a safe space for all of us. A space where domestic violence victims and survivors can tell their stories without the fear of judgment.
The third part of this exhibit will consist of intricate paper cuts sandwiched between plexiglass frames. I will also use visa and refugee applications as base material to create these papercuts to highlight immigrant survivors. The colors, materials and cuts will be chosen with the intention of representing the domestic violence community.
