I cannot tell you how excited I was when CASSA (Council of Agencies Serving South Asians) asked me to design and manage a community project that challenged racism and discrimination through art. I was pleasantly surprised when they asked me to produce this with scrabble tiles. However, I didn’t think that that wood would be more difficult to work than with than glass. That’s why I love mosaics the most, when interpreting an idea, its process is flexible and often full of surprises.For this project, I started with inspiring quote “There’s nothing out there, everything is in within”. Even though the design I made at the beginning was constant, the materials we used were so varied and colored with the suggestions of the volunteer participants. Scrabble tiles symbolize a positive environment while the background represented Canada’s vertical mosaic structure, while the various colors of wood show our cultural and personal differences. The figure in the foreground represents the transformation of the individual in this affirmative environment. Mirrors sometimes became a symbol of our inner conflicts, sometimes childhood wounds, sometimes from our ancestors and while healing with an encouraging environment without losing its essence.()
“There is nothing outside of yourself that can ever enable you to get better, stronger, richer, quicker, or smarter. Everything is within. Everything exists. Seek nothing outside of yourself.”
Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings
