I have always been in touch with my creative side however I recently discovered my passion for painting.
Everytime I paint, its like the world ceases to exit, time stops and I escape into a world that is owned by me.
This particular painting tells a story about me. I come from a culture that is so different to who I am. Just because I was born in a certain geographical area of this earth, the world sees me as a part of that culture. Its like a stamp they put on you and then file you away in a certain section of a cabinet. I am much more than just the culture I represent. I am ME. I am not my culture so don’t define me. You can not define me by geography, define me by my actions, values and my passions.
I am so alienated from my own culture and traditions that i am neither here nor there. My “people” define me as someone who is not a part of them. They don’t accept people who hold different opinions and beliefs. Anything that challenges their way of living is a threat and must be shunned - like living in the medieval times. And God forbid if it is a WOMAN who holds strong opinions and dares to challenge them. They put me down, they discourage me, they boycott me but I refuse to be like them. I refuse to succumb to a way of living that defies everything that I AM.
Yes - I dared to be different.