dima
  • From Within

    This ceramic series is based on Egyptian canopic jars and Stanhope viewers and it was exhibited as two separate editions. The first edition contained eleven jars in and showed in conjunction with my film T M I at ICOSA in Austin, April 2021. The clay jars are vessels which resemble various fauna, both actual and mythical. Inspired by the isolation of the recent pandemic, each of the pieces all contain a group portrait of the other jars in the edition, the idea being that we carry those whom we are connected to inside of us. The second edition of fourteen vessels showed at Wasserman Works in Detroit in September 2022, alongside composite photographic portraits. This edition had unique elements, like double-headed creatures, triple-segmented jars and vessels with reversible heads. Like Walt Whitman’s “I contain multitudes,” this project incorporates the idea of inherited memory which has been the foundation of several recent projects. The internal portraits can only be seen when you lift the head or lid and let the light in, looking through the brass peephole. Even after the pieces have gone to new homes, they are invariably connected as a family, as evidenced by the inner images inside them.