فرهنگ – فرنگ ( Culture – Foreign Land ), 2022

30″

Acrylics

In this circular canvas, I navigate the profound duality that emerges in the wake of migration—the interweaving of ‘Farhang’ (culture) and ‘Farang’ (foreign land). I have chosen the medium of gold on a dark backdrop to symbolize the preciousness of culture and the weight of the unknown.

The figure cloaked in shadow represents the self, shrouded by the overwhelming nature of change, yet resilient in its essence. The golden script, partially obscured by this figure, blurs the lines between the familiar and the foreign, creating a visual pun that reflects the migrant’s reality.

The word ‘Farhang,’ rich with the connotations of heritage and home, morphs into ‘Farang,’ a term for the lands beyond one’s own. It is this duality that encapsulates the migrant’s journey—a path where one’s culture is both a shield and a shroud in a new land.

Through this piece, I aim to illustrate the delicate dance between holding onto one’s roots and embracing the new world. It is a dance of shadow and light, of knowing and unknowing, of being distinctly from somewhere but also part of something larger and more diffuse.