We Buy Asians, 2015, Custom-made Tapestry, 50 in x 70 in
We Buy Asians is a custom tapestry appropriated from a small town, Long Island newspaper advertisement. The advertisement was originally calling out for “Asian antiques”, but through this collage technique the objectification of certain histories and bodies becomes more clear. The reconfigured imagery was sent to an online printing service company called, ‘Shutterfly’ to produce this weave in Middle America.
Welcome Home, 2014, Outdoor Vinyl Print, 6 ft x 3 ft
Welcome Home is a print on outdoor vinyl similar to outdoor advertising plastered across many urban-scapes. The imagery is conceived through a technique of handmade collage scanned primarily appropriated from housing advertisements from online sources based in the United States. The text is in Urdu, the national language of Pakistan; it is a transliteration between Urdu and English. When read, it is understood as the title of the piece, “Velcame Hame”. The transliteration reproduces a distinct pronunciation of a particular locale and reveal the inconsistencies of translation inherent in the South Asian diasporic communities today. The font style of the text is commonly found in Urdu based newspapers in South Asian communities in America and I worked specifically with signage small businesses in Jackson Heights, NY. This work seeks to unravel the political potency and agency in the kitsch aesthetic, specifically as a refusal to resemble.