“I awoke in a riverbed, trying to make sense of my cradle made of sand, pebbles and shells. It felt cool to the touch, yet I was not cold, indeed it was comfortable just to lie there undisturbed, my consciousness spread out through the strange patterns etched in mud. But I soon felt the questioning of my own mind, asking me to stand up and walk around. Then I saw I was not alone there: my brothers and sisters had also taken shape from the river’s silt deposits. There were small groups of us gathered in curiosity by the riverbank, listening to a wise old man. He was telling a story about the Sun, we were to follow the Sun on our journey of life. We pictured his words in our minds, and were filled with excitement for the great adventure being proposed.”

This project began as a studio brief at Auckland University of Technology, ostensibly exploring the clash between Western individualism and tribal definitions of identity. However, I found this approach deeply flawed, as it claimed both perspectives were equally valid while only allowing one to dominate the narrative. It suggested that people could only be “individuals” within Western culture, which was presumed to possess the proper drive and structures for such identity. As a recent immigrant from Eastern Europe, who had grown up enchanted by tales of Native Americans and facing ridicule for my unconventional interests, the opposite was true – which seemed to challenge the very colonial and capitalistic norms that this brief appeared to endorse.

However, I recognised that I had an exciting journey ahead in discovering a different approach, which motivated me despite initially not meeting the project’s expectations. I later revisited it as I began having vivid dreams about my ancestors. This inspired me to create an immersive, dreamlike exhibition where, much like Dreamers experience, outer identities blend away, allowing the inner self, still aware, to explore every possible viewpoint as though it were its own.