How do these artists see themselves from the terrain of another? What do artworks reveal about artists’ newly acquired experiences in the “First World”? How do these artistic expressions allow viewers to understand the complexities of the place they call home? Within the works produced by these artists, how is “First World” hegemonic privilege demystified and/or reaffirmed?
In this proposed exhibition, “First World” and “Third World” are understood as necessarily problematic categories that fluctuate between micro and macro situations, from the intra-personal to the geopolitical.
The artists selected for this exhibition inhabit transitory homes; they are neither First World nor Third World artists, but they live (or have lived) in First World centers. The works selected for this exhibition will rely on the shared codes and perceptions these artists have taken from their experiences and impacts in the (so called) First World.
Reflecting critical viewpoints in their works, these artists ask their multi-cultural audience to reflect upon the privilege and oppression that exists within the immediate context of one of the world’s most important “First World” hubs.
About
People from around the world migrate to the “First World” in the hopes of finding a better life. For many however, living and surviving in the “First World” poses a set of new struggles, including (but not limited to): learning a new language, legal difficulties, the separation of families and friendships, labor discrimination, exploitation, and racism. For artists who grow up or live in the “First World,” either as the children of immigrants, or as expatriates, the process of resettling is also contentious. Harboring affective and symbolic memories from their nascent countries or regions, these artists are caught between familiar symbolic languages, transnational codes, and new symbolic lexicons.
