When we look at the city’s landscape we see its glory and beauty of its mesmerizing view. However, what has not been revealed to the viewer is the environmental defaults that are emerging through time within consumer culture. The circle line field trip was definitely an eye opening experience as to what sustainable systems really consists of. Artists like Chris Jordan who photograph garbage and mass consumption really challenge society to raise awareness through his unsettling, yet bold imagery within his works. For instance, the plastic and wastes found inside of birds and the crashed cars. I believe that his art pushes boundaries and is crossing lines between art, activism, beauty versus grotesque and representation. It makes us reconsider our everyday lifestyles and be more conscious of our actions that are affecting our world. While we were on the boat trip, we faced the “hidden” truth of what has been glaring at us all along. Humans are at war with the environment.
Identity can be categorized into real, fiction and performance by our behavior and action to fit into the “social norms” of society. In the process of creating these images, I discovered that I am an individual who is not afraid to expose the rawness of my identity and anything that defines who I am. The 6 images that I am presenting to the viewers are composed of race, gender, religion, and masculinity versus femininity. In the matter of space and time, my identity shifts through the masks that I wear to perform an act that the audience is not prepared to see. My Asian roots, my Islamic religion, my masculine and feminine persona all intertwined as one, to unify my being. The stereotypes behind my identity are common to society. For instance, seeing a woman wearing a brand name Burka, juxtaposing two women with hairstyles that represent their “gender”, a female with a skateboard in comparison with a male figure. I want the viewer to question him or herself, what does it mean to be an Asian or an American Muslim? Why does the division between men and women exist? What is gender? Overall, my work of art expresses my innate characteristics from what is real or fake; in the order that I placed my photographs, I used Aziza Rozi to express the emotional cycle of stereotypes that are reoccurring in our society.
This photograph is a balance of the real reaction of a woman to society and the fake is having her eyes closed shut.I used the garment “Burka” from Islamic religion to portray its significance and stereotypes it receives from other cultures, especially in America. Muslims have always been targeted as “terrorists” by just their appearance or choice of style. The freedom of expression does not exist in the realm of judgment and stereotype in the life of a devoted religious individual. In this photograph, I wanted to place a name brand on the burka as the central attention to the garment. If the massive brand name, such as Chanel, made burka’s a fashion trend, there is no doubt that consumers would follow the trend and perceive it as Chanel but not a “terrorist” garment.This image challenges the views on how people perceive color. When you see black, you think of darkness and negativity. On the other hand, white is seen as pure and angelic.This photograph is of a female hidden behind her skateboard. Only half of her face is revealed to the viewer because she fears that society may not accept her to take on masculine features and a “man’s sport.” However, she still rides the wheels of fortune without fear of acceptance.This photograph is letting the viewers be the judge of the artwork. The portrait that the figure is looking at is a nude woman with a “DYKE” printed tattoo on the back of her neck. The figure is positioned next to the portrait because they both resemble each other with their short hair styles. On the figure’s back of the neck, it says “ INSERT LABEL HERE”. She lets the audience fill in the unknown spaces to form her identity.
Throughout the past week, I have recorded my garbage and the most that came out of it was paper and unwanted materials that were thrown out. I used paper, wood, tile swatches, board game pieces, buttons, candles and whiskey glass bottle to create a “kingdom” of garbage. The paper is splurging out of the bottle to represent our destructive system. It is causing polluted spectacles to form our so-called glorious “NYC” life.
Visiting the MORUS (Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space) on Friday’s field trip really exposed the history of the culture of the community in the Lower East Side. We had the chance to visit community gardens that represent social and economical changes that activists have fought for since the 1970s.
The sign on the fire escape states “This Land Is Ours See Co-Op Squat Not For Sale”. During the housing crisis in the 1970s in the Lower East Side, activists, hippies, and homeless groups within the community formed squatting movements. At the time, community members have took over buildings and gardens to repair and beautify its current conditions. These squats that still in existence today, makes us question our living conditions and the patriarchal powers that are in tuned with our life styles without concerns of its negative effects on our communities. These issues of the past brings us back to the present time where we are facing gentrification and the increase of housing costs within communities.
