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As an immigrant living in the UK, I find belonging to be a very abstract, but an extremely important concept, perhaps even one of the driving forces of all of our lives. Most people have an innate need to belong and, at times, some people more than others, experience a palpable lack of belonging, which tends to create a negative emotionality, a ‘concept of insecurity’; and the ‘capacity to hurt’ – ‘to be or feel hurt’(Askins, 2016), or cause hurt. The need and the feeling of belonging is one of the most unifying, and at the same time, divisive experiences in our world.
During this research project for my MA, working with collaborators from my local community, I used concept of emotional geography to search for the common ground of different senses of belonging, and how they are intertwined within our geographical space and social relations.
I viewed my collaborators’ images & videos of places where they felt they belonged, or didn’t belong. Using them I created an experimental short film. I listened to my collaborators thoughts and I searched for belonging myself, and I wrote words and used collaborators’ expressions in the short film, and the book at the top of this page.
Sound created by Loz Apperly.
For MA show at Hardwick Gallery, I also produced art installation, ‘fishbowlful of belonging’. This is time-based installation, still constantly updating and changing and rooting and growing and earthing.
Chatting to some of the audience members, as well as participants, it seems, this project helped to start conversations that are important to continue.