Convergence

Convergence

Is an inter-media project completed for my Senior Thesis Project at McMaster University in order to qualify for my undergraduate degree in Multimedia studies. This project consists of three entries: a photo series, a short film, and an experimental film/sound piece.

Artist Statement

I grew up in a small town of Collingwood, Ontario. Known for its quaint atmosphere, famous ski hills, and stunning waterfronts, it’s certainly a place to visit if you find yourself near South Georgian Bay. But the town was - and still is - overwhelmingly white, and as a Brown Muslim person, I’d be hard pressed to find other people who looked like I do. Try as I might have to shift my identity and fit in to the “Canadian” ways of living, it was hard not to feel like I was a square peg trying to get into a round hole. I’d shift my personality, actions, and character traits based on the situation I was in or the people I was around - this was commonplace growing up and still is a big part of who I am today.

Convergence is an exploration of my “shape-shifting” identity. It reflects the constant oscillation between my Muslim self and my Canadian self and the tensions that come from those two identities both being a part of me at the same time. Sometimes the two can exist in harmony, sometimes they can’t. This project illuminates the different ways of performing identity for different contexts and aims to challenge the idea that the Muslim identity is confined to one rigid box. Narratives about Muslim People of Colour are often stereotyped and one-dimensional yet take up so much of the media landscape. I hope, through this project, to broaden understandings of the everyday nuances of being a religious minority in Western society.