Thick wavy hair, a bird looking at its reflection on the water and a tree trunk. What do they see when they see themselves and what do others see? Where do they belong?
Nina Mangalanayagam’s photographs are from the project The Tangled Web of Belonging in which she reflects on what can happen when people with roots in different cultures are included in a representation of whiteness. The artist explains: “As an artist of mixed heritage, I address the confrontation that arises when I attempt to achieve a sense of belonging in a western society, with my white mum. My skin colour shows the mix that occurred and that has continued since colonial times. It serves as a reminder that there is no origin, no certainty of a sense of belonging to fall back on and that there never was.”
Artist biography Nina Mangalanayagam
Born in 1980, Nina Mangalanayagam holds an MFA from the Royal College of Art in London and a PhD in Fine Arts from the University of Westminster.
