Artist statement about the show

” The environment and our lives within it are changing at a fast pace, leaving us in a liminal space of not knowing what to do. It’s almost a paralyzing sensation, a rollercoaster ride of loss and preservation in which we try to do our best while we’re there. Problems have been mapped, solutions are sought, developed and, if possible, implicated. But what if, instead of merely being passengers of this crazy rollercoaster ride, we could be vessels of change, making meaningful connections that have the capability to change the way we perceive the world, and live in it accordingly?

For me, the process of “defamiliarization” plays an important role in the route towards change. It being one of the first tools I learned about when studying Anthropology, defamiliarization embodies a process that urges you to shed a new light on any seemingly self-evident situation by placing it in a different context, thereby creating windows for new perspectives to exist. Indeed, it is an artistic approach at heart. It is about not taking things for granted, and realizing that in order to continue living the life as we know it, we must take the time to see all of its facets in a new light. Only then we are able to respect, celebrate and cherish the environment that we care for so deeply.

In this show, I applied the concept of defamilization to animals and surroundings that are very dear to me because of their strength, beauty and vulnerability. By shedding a new light on them and by placing them in a new, unfamiliar, setting, I make them the center of a series of “Unconventional Familiarities”, through which I invite others to move beyond all that’s taken for granted and open their minds and hearts to new perspectives and therefore a new appreciation of the fragile beauty that is surrounding us. ”