Under the Same Blue Sky

Exhibition: Under the same blue sky is a three part, multi-sensory installation exploring loss, memory and renewal.

Remembrance, is a stop-motion video performance reveals the “unofficial” and hidden story of the emotional and material destruction wrought by the US military’s drone warfare carried out in eight countries, including my native Pakistan.  The red Rangoli Holi pigment used in the Indo-Subcontinent to celebrate springtime is sprinkled on the floor becoming the vibrant earth, the soil that holds the memory of joys and past ruins. I invite viewers to actively engage in the performance by situating themselves between the comfort and the combat zones. Through the collective experience, the participants examine ways in which they might reconcile these divergent realities.

Reclamation is a 10’ diameter circle made of Rangoli chalk powder on the gallery floor and serves a projection screen. This hand-drawn animated installation examines and reclaims the narrative of conflict and the ever-changing identity of place.

Under the same blue sky are five lattice windows that form a protected alcove. The back lit, translucent screens are covered with hand written stories and earphones allow the participant to hear an immigrant life story from Portland’s Somali Muslim community. This installation offers a space to witness a powerful and intimate storyline, one that reclaims the narrative experience of individual immigrants as they share their lives through art.