My
current personal scenario of being away from my homeland – Zambia, is reason
for my keen interest and inquiry into this phenomena of the ‘Diaspora’.
Conceptually I was inspired by Ricarda Mieth, a German conceptual artist that I
collaborated with in 2013. Her employment of magnetism in her artworks led me
to explore the prevailing forces that result in human displacement or
migration. ‘We Feel Fine’ was another conceptual spring board for this
investigation. ‘We Feel Fine’ is an online interactive platform by Sep Kamvar
and Jonathan Harris which scours the internet for expressions of human emotions
and displays its findings in visually dynamic representations. Thematically, I
drew inspiration from John Beadle, a Bahamian artist who from time to time
explores the trans-Atlantic forced migration of slaves from Africa to the
Americas. One of his very ancestors was among those unfortunate slaves. Then
there is Chen Chieh-Jen a Taiwanese artist whose video works critique the
challenges and mistreatment experienced by emigrants in visa requirements and
border protocols as they traverse through national frontiers.
