Starting from an ancient Zen koan „What did my face look like before my parents were born?” in this work, I’m collecting different perspectives and perceptions of myself to re-examine how we identify ourselves with certain things such as given name or inherited features and behaviour, but also how others define us.
The work consists of several parts that are then put into a dialogue to generate different meanings. The central part of the work is a handmade memory quilt traditionally made as memorabilia of family history. I hand-sewed the quilt for several months using my childhood clothes and archival family photographs. The quilt is followed by a collage self-portrait made using photographs of my ancestors – my mother, father and grandparents. I cut out pieces of their faces for each part that resembles mine thus creating my face asking myself what is mine and what is theirs. Other parts of the work feature medical documentation, DNA sample and various ephemera concerning my life and destiny.
In essence a self-portrait, this work is a meditation on the question in the title. Even though the answer could not be found, the focus becomes the search itself.
The work was made during PARALLEL – European Photo Based Platform.
2018-2022
