Artist Statement

           My piece reflects clash of dual identity represented  in the short story, “Light Beer and Peanuts” by Viola Chandra. The negotiation of what constitutes an Italian vs. what constitutes an Indian were struggles she dealt with being of Indian heritage and living in Italy. Her way of life and her style of dress were customary to Italy, but her physical appearance and heritage was Indian. She struggled with a dual identity  as her parents neglected her Indian traits. She yearned for acceptance from both India and Italy and to her, she did not have a whole group in which she felt accepted. She was a foreigner in both countries. I chose to represent her dual identities in my art piece by showing her debate of “taming” her Indian heritage in her appearance or allowing herself to portray her true self freely. I chose to have her holding a “Lonely Planet” book, a book typical for foreigners, because she identified with a passage in the book that discussed the concept of dual identity. I believe this represents her feeling of being unaccepted by both Indians and Italians, and always feeling as a foreigner or an outsider. She identified with words that expressed her experience as an Indian Italian. She said, “…maybe literature in Italy has a little problem” which I analyzed as her motive to write this short story and share her experience of negotiating her dual identity. I surrounded her body with Italian words because it is her native language and important to her revealing her struggles and adding to the Italian literature.