Artist Statement
I use my life experience , identity, and memories to highlight societal and cultural misconceptions within different societies I have lived in. Using perspectives from different cultures – like commonly held beliefs in Egypt or Middle east, and comparing them to those I have observed and lived through in the United States – results in an evident similarity of cultural issues regardless of how different each Western or Eastern societies are. I try to draw attention to political, cultural and societal dissidence, by proposing my work to the audience and providing intractability with my art in different forms.
"My immigration from Egypt to the United States has impacted my understanding of my heritage and cultural context. Religious, political, cultural, and racial misconceptions are perpetuated in my culture generationally. Seems to me, most if not all societies are exploited by excessive political propaganda, and hyperbole, whether through media or false idealistic facts embedded within the culture. Furthermore, this has led to xenophobia and other exploitations of foreign societal or cultural believes within societies. Metaphorically speaking; I would represent my heritage culture as a box, anyone who crosses the boundary of conventionality will be labeled deviant. Where I least expected it, I found similar misconceptions in the first world country I moved to. I concluded that the only difference between one culture to another is how much bigger the size of that metaphorical box is."
~ Mostafa Darwish