ROOTS

Roots was an artistic exploration of how we find identity through our connection with our land of heritage. When we are “uprooted” or displaced, the effects can be long lasting and far-reaching.  The search for a sense of connection with the new place can be successful or remains a disconnected longing for “home.”  This journey often includes the challenge of transplanting elements that we bring with us, and incorporating them within the new reality of place and culture.

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As a result of her unique life experience, artist Houda Terjuman (Moroccan-born Syrian and Swiss ancestry) interrogates the multi-layered aspects of migration and displacement respectively, and creatively explores what that then means in terms of culture, identity and inclusion. She uses her artistic practice to express the ongoing reality of reconciling her heritage with the contemporary landscape and her place within it.

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About her art, Terjuman says:

“I explore identity, migration and exile and the link between our homeland and host country. It is precisely in this fine space between the ideal that a new life can offer mixed with the regret of loss and nostalgia, that I have chosen to situate my practice.  I use two media to tell stories, painting and sculpture, which depict familiar objects that weave stories. These small objects act as bearers of hope and bridges that link between cultures. A lonely boat is a bearer of hope. An empty chair symbolizes what we left behind and keeps us connected to our roots. Putting an emphasis on the poetic and surreal, I like to artistically tell stories, and to interact with the people who have started following my work.  They tell me about their lives of exile, and it inspires me.”

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Roots is part of CARAVAN’s visual art emphasis confronting the urgent need to readdress our relationship with the earth and to be in harmony with it. The works in “Roots” stimulate reflection and discussion while inspiring new perspectives on respectfully preserving and renewing connections with our planet.

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