This series explores my experience growing up biracial in the Midwest, where cultural connections often felt distant and difficult to grasp. The nearest Indian grocery store was hours away from my hometown, and I had to teach myself what it meant to be biracial, piecing together fragments of culture from the details my father shared with me and my siblings. As a child, I was often seen as a white kid who could handle spicy food and ate “weird” snacks that seemed out of place in a predominantly white community, and didn't fully understand what it meant to be “white-washed.” I was caught between two worlds, neither of which fully embraced me, and it took years for me to begin to make sense of my identity.
This work includes three hand-built, coil-formed pots, each made from stoneware and designed to visually represent the gradual erosion of cultural connection. As the pots progress, their color fades and becomes increasingly more faded, symbolizing how my understanding of my cultural roots has blurred over time. I used Mod Podge photo transfers to incorporate images that reflect aspects of my upbringing and adulthood in the Midwest—moments that shaped my identity but also left me feeling fragmented. The images represent fleeting memories, fragmented cultural experiences, and the tension between belonging and not fully fitting in.
