Mei

Gallery Statement

In Relation to Self” is a project that seeks to explore the Self through an in-depth analysis of the role of love in relation to human existence and individual experience while also considering the collective consciousness. It brings in cultural connotations of Bengali culture into play, further analyzing the sacredness of community, communion and belongingness. With the use of sacred language, prose, hand embroidery on pure cotton fabric and red as a sacred, consistent color throughout this body of work, it connects with ancestral lineage and devotes itself to the histories of one’s own culture to navigate through signs of generational and cultural trauma, taking love as the baseline of all things known and unknown; a way of being. Its use of red as a primary color ties together with the values of functioning through a love ethic. With community as the foundation and love as the baseline, it inspires interconnectedness in a shared world where all things come from the same source.

Artist Statement

This body of work seeks to explore the Self through examining and identifying trauma from a loving, queer lens.

About Mei

Mei is a South Asian, queer, interdisciplinary visual artist and writer who pursued their BFA in Philosophy from Gargi College, University of Delhi, India. They are currently pursuing their MFA in Visual Studies from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon. Their recent work revolves around themes of personal identity, queerness, childhood trauma through ideas of love, belongingness and interconnectedness. They are in conversation with writers such as Bell Hooks, Ocean Vuong, Mary Oliver, while taking inspiration from nature, spiritualism, daily interactions with beings and non-beings, the universe as one whole breathing consciousness as well as self reflection in moments filled with solitude and belonging within one’s Self.

MFA in Visual Studies