MERGE  

     Celebrating Diversity

    Artwork Statement

 

The remarkable mix of cultures through globalization makes humans, including me and my daughter, grow up in multicultural families and/or foreign environment and therefore, lets them struggle often to find their place in society. Unfortunately, this is commonly seen as negative.  Instead, I wanted to celebrate diversity by showcasing the beauty of diversity through my MERGE images.

These children have both sides (their parents looks, cultures and believes …) perfectly aligned and united inside as well as outside of them. 

They might never be a fit to neither of their combined cultures and ethnic backgrounds but they are able to view the world in more than just one way simultaneously as they have naturally experienced and embraced diversity while growing up in-between cultures. They obtain intercultural fluency and will be able to use it like a superpower, fostering global respect and enrich their own life and the people they interact with once they understand the gift they have been given.

 

Celebrating diversity 

MERGE is a series of portrait photographs, which represents families of various cultures and ethnic backgrounds within their family unit while contemplating the countless nationalities living in the UAE, an immense hub of mixed cultures and my temporary home.

In my opinion it is a perfect example of tolerance and co-existence.

 

These 16 Portraits are Part 1 and Part 2 of an ongoing body of work, showing the first eight families. Two images represent each family. One image depicts the father with his child and the second image reveals the mother with the same child.

In continuing this project, I aim to include as many families as possible and make the participating children understand that they are not less but more and realize what superpower the have.

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