Essay by Sahla Safia Arundati for Contextualising Practice
In a globalised world, art can powerfully critique societal pressures of conformity and the experience of diaspora. This essay examines how fragmented identities address these issues, using my art practice as an example. I discuss themes of identity fragmentation, societal pressures, and diaspora, exploring self-adaptation and transformation. Informed by Louise Ryan’s research on multi-positionalities and Werner Krauss’s analysis of Raden Saleh’s The Arrest of Diponegoro, this essay explores how my artwork captures the internal conflicts and fragmentation arising from trying to fit into different social contexts. Additionally, insights from other theorists and artists are explored to provide a comprehensive understanding of these themes.
As an international student from Indonesia in Melbourne, Australia, I find adjusting difficult. I was excited to meet new people in a new environment but found it challenging to fit in. I often feel tension and a sense of difference with them. Even in today’s more open-minded society, I couldn’t escape the subtle ways I was treated differently. No matter how much I tried to change myself, I felt alienated. This resulted in me always needing to adapt to satisfy others and find acceptance constantly.
My series of artworks, Whispers of Mercury, consists of fluid, organic sculptures and evocative paintings. Polymer clay sculptures are painted silver and cover parts of the mirrors with silver paint (Figure 1). The pieces have flowing, smooth shapes that reflect light and create dynamic visual effects. Moreover, some sculptures feature aluminum foil, which gives the sculptures a harsh, fragmented texture and a metallic sheen (Figure 2). An oil painting in the series features a central figure surrounded by dark, indistinct silhouettes against a solid background (Figure 3). Using a predominantly blue colour palette to create a monochrome effect, creating a melancholic atmosphere. The central figure is detailed, while the shadowy silhouettes emphasise isolation, external pressure and the feeling of being alienated.
A significant influence on my artworks is the concept of the colonial gaze. While my work does not explicitly examine the colonial gaze, it provides a critical framework for understanding how external pressures shape individuals as well as erasing their individual identities. Through exploring identity fragmentation, social pressures, and conformity, I delve into how individuals are forced to adapt and mould themselves to fit into various social contexts, ultimately leading to the loss of their identity. As I explore identity loss, I am particularly interested in colonial gaze theory, which emphasises how power dynamics construct and enforce the perception of individuals as inferior or different.
bell hooks, born Gloria Jean Watkins, was an influential cultural critic, feminist theorist, and author who examined race, gender, and class in her work. hooks challenged traditional narratives and analysed how societal power dynamics perpetuate oppression and shape identity in books like Ain’t I a Woman? and Black Looks: Race and Representation. Her insights into the colonial gaze examine how power structures create and sustain images that depict marginalised groups as “other”, making her work highly relevant to discussions on fragmented identity and societal conformity in my artwork.
The colonial gaze, as theorised by scholars like bell hooks, examines how societal power dynamics construct and enforce the perception of individuals as different or inferior. hooks defines the colonial gaze as ‘the ways in which experiences were positioned and subjected in the dominant regimes of representation…They had the power to make us see and experience ourselves as ‘Other’’ (hooks 1992). By conforming to the expectations and standards imposed by those in power, individuals lose their authenticity as a result of colonialism. The gaze perpetuates stereotypes and cultural hierarchies, reinforcing the pressure on society to conform. The impact of societal conformity is evident in how individuals adapt and transform themselves to fit into various social contexts, mirroring how colonial powers imposed their values and beliefs on colonised populations. Individuals struggling to reconcile their true selves with imposed narratives and stereotypes can experience fragmentation and disintegration of their identity. Thus, colonisation not only perpetuates cultural dominance but also deeply affects how individuals perceive and construct themselves through societal pressures and conformity.
Additionally, bell hooks collaborated with Stuart Hall on the book Uncut Funk: A Contemplative Dialogue. Theorist and sociologist Stuart Hall was renowned for his pioneering work in cultural studies, especially for understanding racial, ethnic, and power dynamics. Through history, culture, and power dynamics, he explores how identities are continuously constructed and reconstructed through ‘Cultural Identity and Diaspora’. As my artwork addresses fragmentation and identity adaptation under societal pressures, this work is highly relevant to discussions about identity as a fluid and evolving concept. Uncut Funk: A Contemplative Dialogue delves into critical discussions on race, gender, identity, and cultural representation. The combined insights of hooks and Hall enhance the understanding of how societal narratives and power structures shape identities, which is integral to my practice of exploring fragmented identities and the pressures of conformity. Engaging with the theories of both hooks and Hall allows my art to address personal experiences of identity loss and fragmentation while contributing to broader conversations about cultural resilience and the impact of globalisation on individual and collective identities. This alignment underscores the importance of examining how external pressures and historical contexts shape the fluid and fragmented nature of identity.
My investigation of identity loss focuses on the colonial gaze theory because it emphasises how power dynamics create and reinforce perceptions of individuals as inferior or different. A Southeast Asian art historian, Werner Krauss, examined Raden Saleh’s painting, The Arrest of Diponegoro, within the context of Indonesian proto-nationalism and modernism. Between 1825 and 1830, Javanese rebels fought against Dutch colonial rule due to their discontent with oppressive policies. As Krauss demonstrates, Saleh’s work served as an early expression of nationalist sentiment and a challenge to colonial narratives. It depicts the capture of Javanese Prince Diponegoro by Dutch forces in 1830, which ended the Java War. It is Saleh’s painting that portrays Diponegoro as dignified and defiant, unlike Dutch painter Nicolaas Pieneman’s depiction of a submissive Diponegoro in The Submission of Prince Dipo Negoro to General De Kock. The painting is a powerful statement against colonial oppression and reclaims Javanese history from a native perspective. Around 1857-1858, Saleh painted The Arrest of Diponegoro to counter Dutch portrayals and emphasise Javanese dignity and resistance, challenging colonial representations and inspiring national pride.
Raden Saleh’s work, as analysed by Krauss, emphasises the importance of reclaiming cultural identity in opposing the colonial gaze. Similarly, my work challenges societal narratives, especially those relating to diaspora and the pressures it places on individuals. By drawing inspiration from Saleh’s approach, I seek to assert fragmented identities in modern-day societal pressures. By depicting the struggle to adapt and transform to fit into various social contexts at the expense of one’s true self, my work illustrates the emotional and psychological impact of conformity.
The impact of societal conformity can be seen in how individuals adapt and transform themselves to conform to various social contexts, similar to how colonial powers imposed their values and beliefs on colonised populations in the past. Individuals struggling to reconcile their true selves with imposed narratives and stereotypes can experience fragmentation and disintegration of their identity due to adapting these external perceptions. Thus, colonisation perpetuates cultural dominance and deeply affects how individuals perceive and construct themselves through societal pressures and conformity.
My painting in the Whispers of Mercury series addresses the impact of societal pressures and external perceptions on individual identity. The central figure represents the core identity of the individual. At the same time, the surrounding dark silhouettes bring a sense of alienation and symbolise the external influences and societal pressures that shape and sometimes distort self-perception. This aligns with the colonial gaze, where the powerful forces of societal expectations and stereotypes dictate how individuals should perceive themselves, often leading to internal conflict and identity fragmentation. The use of dark, indistinct silhouettes in my painting mirrors the oppressive nature of the colonial gaze, where dominant narratives and stereotypes overshadow the individual’s true essence. This visual representation underscores the struggle to maintain one’s authentic identity amidst overwhelming external influences. The large proportion of blue tones create a melancholic mood in the painting, illustrating the emotional turmoil individuals experience when trying to cope with such pressures.
Kehinde Wiley, Yinka Shonibare, and Wangechi Mutu are three contemporary artists who inspire me and offer unique perspectives on identity, power dynamics, and cultural representation. By placing Black individuals in traditional European contexts, Wiley reimagines classical portraiture to challenge the colonial perspective that has traditionally ignored or depicted Black individuals as inferior. He celebrates Blackness and strength in his paintings while criticising its absence in western art. Through Dutch wax-printed fabric, Shonibare explores colonialism and post-colonial themes. His headless Victorian mannequins, Scramble for Africa, question notions of authenticity and cultural identity. In Mutu’s mixed-media collages and sculptures, fragmented Black female bodies are depicted as a response to colonial gazes. In her work Riding Death in My Sleep she creates hybrid figures that challenge traditional representations and reclaims narratives around Black female identity that challenge the exoticisation and objectification of African women in western media. By exploring marginalised identities, these artists have sparked conversations about colonialism and its legacy through contemporary art. As well as contributing to the broader movement toward decolonising art and creating inclusive representation, their works inspire viewers to reflect on historical narratives, recognise cultural identity, and appreciate diverse perspectives.
Research by Louise Ryan on multi-positionalities emphasises the fluidity of identity, particularly among migrants who are both insiders and outsiders. Based on Ryan’s research, identity is not static but dynamic and evolving. Understanding how identities are constantly constructed and reconstructed through interactions with social contexts is crucial. The theme of losing oneself in various social settings is central to my artwork, which explores this fluidity of identity. Ryan states, ‘[m]igration is a dynamic process that involves complex negotiations of identity, belonging, and community’ (Ryan, 2007). My sculptures explore this idea directly through the use of polymer clay painted with silver and mounted on mirrors, symbolising the continuous adaptation and change that individuals undergo to fit into different cultural environments. In my sculptures, I use fluid shapes to represent the malleability of identity, reshaped continually by external societal pressures and internal conflicts. Parts of the mirrors are covered with these shapes, emphasising how these external pressures can obscure our ability to recognise our true selves. By highlighting the emotional and psychological impact of these pressures, I critique the societal pressures that causes individuals to lose touch with their authentic selves.
My aluminium foil sculptures portray the mental and emotional harm caused by societal pressures with harsh, fragmented textures. The process of creating these pieces is physically challenging; I even accidentally cut my hand while working with the foil. This injury serves as a poignant reminder of how the relentless pressure to conform can lead to physical and mental harm. The aluminium foil’s rough texture symbolises identity’s fragmented and incomplete nature when constantly adjusting to external expectations. By juxtaposing these harsh textures with reflective surfaces, my sculptures emphasise the internal conflict and emotional turmoil caused by societal pressures to conform.
My art practice explores the evolving nature of identity in the context of globalisation to critique societal pressures of conformity and the experience of diaspora. Due to external pressures, migrants continuously reshape and adapt their identities, as Louise Ryan’s research on multi-positionalities illustrates. My understanding of how individuals navigate their sense of self within different cultural contexts has deepened because of Ryan’s insight into the dynamic process of identity negotiation. These insights are crucial to understanding how external pressures can obscure one’s true identity, leading to a fragmented and evolving sense of self.
Challenging stereotypes and dominant narratives that reinforce cultural hierarchies and conformity is also the focus of my work, which I’ve done by offering a personal perspective on identity loss and fragmentation. When I blend my personal experiences with theoretical concepts like the colonial gaze and multi-positionalities, I encourage viewers to rethink enforced narratives and stereotypes, showing how conformity can cause emotional and psychological damage. Through this, I can use my art as a reflection of myself and a critical critique of the social forces shaping identity. I aim to reclaim and assert my identity, challenge societal norms, and contribute to discussions about cultural resilience, authenticity, and the impact of globalisation on identities. My studio practice thus becomes a space for individual assertion and collective inquiry in an increasingly interconnected world.
In conclusion, art practices that focus on fragmented identities can critique societal pressures of conformity and diaspora experience by exploring identity’s fluidity and adaptability under external influences. When artists engage with theories like the colonial gaze and multi-positionalities, I believe their artworks provide a critical lens for understanding how power dynamics and societal expectations affect authentic identities. Such art practices could portray the emotional and psychological impacts of trying to fit into different social settings. By challenging prevailing narratives and encouraging a deeper understanding of cultural authenticity, this approach critiques the pressures of conformity while promoting discussions about the impact of globalisation on individuals and collectives.
References
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