Means of Identity
Root - [root, root]
noun
the fundamental or essential part
the place where something begins, where it springs into being
The embedded part of an organ or structure, such as a hair, tooth, or nerve, serving as a base or support. A primary source; an origin; radix.
–verb (used without object)
to become fixed or established
–verb (used with object)
to extirpate; exterminate; remove completely
roots,
a person's original or true home, environment, and culture:
the personal relationships, affinity for a locale, habits, and the like, that make a country, region, city, or town one's true home:
personal identification with a culture, religion, etc., seen as promoting the development of the character or the stability of society as a whole.
Modern Language Association (MLA):"root." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 05 Oct. 2007.
Initially, when considering the theme of cultural migration, belonging & settlement I had to ask myself: How do I identify myself? How do I identify myself culturally? What is my society, who is my community? What has changed for me since I’ve left my home, family & native culture behind to come to New Zealand? Essentially, in coming to New Zealand, I realised that I could shape my immediate world, deciding what elements of my way of being I wanted to keep, what beliefs I wanted to cast aside. This lead me to become aware that we live in a fluid world and much of the things we believe about ourselves are only true while we believe them.
How do we identify a person at their most basic level, when everything else has been stripped away? How am I anchored in my world?
Some of the works were shown at The Refinery Artspace in an exhibition entitled Culturally Routed in 2007.
