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Together in Separation
Together in Separation is about the emotional cost of migration, specifically the widening distance between loved ones when pursuing a life or career in another country. This physical separation is deepened by time and the growing difficulty of traveling between countries in today’s political climate.
Building a life in a new place establishes new roots - a job, a lease, a relationship, a community - while simultaneously loosens the hold of one’s homeland. The floating landmasses against a pitch black background represents the finality and loneliness of going on this path because with each step taken, the path behind vanishes, making it incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to go back.
The three figures depicted in the painting represent my sister, my mother, and me - this connection serves as an anchor = despite the ways in which time, distance, and choices have separated us. Leaving one’s home country often feels like complete separation but no matter how ruptured life is, we still hold a piece of where we come from no matter where we go and it connects us to those with whom we share our roots.
The floral patterns - inspired by Indonesian batik motifs and painted to mimic traditional soga brown and indigo blue batik dyes - represent the pieces that remain despite the widening gap between where I am now and where I came from. Instead of grieving this separation, this painting represents the hope that our home and our connections are never truly lost as long as those pieces remain.