ARTIST STATEMENT
This work is part of a series made in consideration of my ethnicity, an analysis of which was triggered by witnessing global atrocity that continues to harm peoples and land. These pieces speak to experiences of colonial trauma and how inherited colonial trauma may affect the self-actualization of individuals and collectives of the Global South and its diasporas.
“1947” refers to the year of Partition that divided India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In the boundaries drawn by British colonists, ecosystems and communities were violated.
While making these works, I experienced a catharsis, as the process allowed for ritualistic reflection, holding, and releasing of hard truths. I painted washes of watercolor on cotton paper, submerged the paper in water, and allowed the paint to bleed. While wet, I ripped and sculpted the paper until it became landscape. After drying — with a wash from the past still present, if only as a memory — I repainted the earth-like sculptures. I then stitched what was torn, mending and reinventing, using needles inherited from my mother.
I used watercolor to muddle boundaries, elicit movement, and create an effect of layering, representing the stories layered within us and on the land.
In leaving the needles in the final version of each piece, I wish to convey that the tools needed to reimagine togetherness are available to us. That ability is nestled in our lands and in wisdom often disregarded for its connection to feminized knowledge and labor.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Sarita strives to create work that heals and builds community. She is an artist, activist, and art therapist, trained at the School of the Art Institute, where she received a Masters in Art Therapy and Counseling. In Chicago, she has worked as an art therapist amongst diverse communities within the nonprofit and private sector. As an activist, Sarita has worked for feminist, non-governmental organizations, including The Melanin Collective, The Azadi Project, and as a Creative Arts Consultant at People Beyond Borders. She experiences the roles of artist, activist, and therapist as intersecting, and brings feminist, decolonial theory into her work as a counselor. Sarita utilizes paint, stitching, and screen printing to investigate what occurs emotionally in identity formation and its presentation, often, though not limited to, how queer and immigrant identity co-create each other. While Sarita’s artwork is deeply personal, it speaks to the communities she embodies and moves within. With watercolors and fabrics, Sarita explores heritage as a gendered labor project. As needle is taken to cloth or paper, every puncture leads to mending and the making of something new. Sarita has lived and worked in Bangladesh, India, The United States, and Mexico. Her experience abroad shapes both her artistic and therapeutic vision; her work urges audiences to reflect upon shared, global experiences. Sarita has exhibited in Washington DC, New York City, and Chicago.
© Sarita Kvam