ReOrientation
Presented in SLARG Research Week at Sint Lucas Antwerp (October, 2024)
This work-in-progress performance explores the intergenerational mother-daughter relationship through the lens of queer phenomenology (Ahmed, 2006). Developed during my Advanced Master at Sint Lucas Antwerpen, the work examines the interaction between physical and virtual realms by manipulating a sphere equipped with a live camera. Through a series of performances involving the body and the sphere, I ask: How do I view and understand my life through a non-linear, non-normative lens of queer migration?
By blending theory with video art, I explore identity, memory, and belonging within migration, using self-made filming tools—what I call ‘queering tools.’ These tools challenge conventional viewpoints, capturing diverse perspectives that reshape relationships and intimacy. My creative process has led me to re-examine the subtle ties of family memory and the traces of life shared between mother and daughter. The absence of moments that cannot be fully expressed in my mother tongue, the loss of shared memories in failed attempts to communicate—these experiences compel me to develop a visual language that transcends both native and foreign languages.
This interdisciplinary approach inspires me to continue exploring themes of domestic spaces, the mother-daughter relationship, queer family, kinship, digital kinship, and matrilineality.
Photography by Danial Shah
Performance
The live video feed from the gym ball's perspective is projected onto the wall.
Performance at SLARG Research Week, Sint Lucas Antwerp.