These three terms, representation, authenticity and identity have been important and key influences within various aspects of my work; so I thought I would start by breaking down each word. The word representation is the idea of speaking or a acting on the behalf of someone. However for me it is the description or portrayal of someone or something in various ways, such as media and society. Authenticity or being authentic considers yours actions that portray your true self, how you feel and your opinion. I consider this term in more creative way such as does an artist truly and fairly represents a culture that they are examining and exploring. The most important term, identity has been the strong influence in many of my projects, as my work is often a reflection of me navigating where I stand with my dual identity (British with Tamil heritage) through my artistic process.
These terms have intertwined within my artistic practice, as I ensure that my work strongly and authentically represents my take on south Asian and western culture, through often using models of a similar background as well as styling; something which is important as my images tend to be a reflection of my identity.
As an artist, aspects such as this are important to reflect on, especially in a world full of well known brands, artworks and designers that thrive off stealing from other cultures without ever giving any form of credit; what makes it worse is that there are creatives that chose to work with people that are not of the culture they are appropriating to reflect their work - however this is a whole separate topic I will touch on in a later post.
Photography by me ©
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