William Andersen and Maryam Hosseinnia
United States of America + Kuwait + Iran
William Andersen and Maryam Hosseinnia
Where's Home? 2021
Approximately 8 ’ x 17 ' x 3 ’
Digital print on fabric and canvas,
found fabric with embroidery, cut, stitched.
Detail images of Where’s Home?
William Andersen and Maryam Hosseinnia
Where's Home? #15, 2021
Where's Home? #15, 2021
3 ’ x 26 ½ ”
Digital print on fabric
Digital print on fabric
The recent pandemic caused many to spend much more time at “home” than most have in many years. Conversely, many were cut off from “home” due to travel restrictions. This has been especially true for expatriates stuck abroad when borders closed, as they did in Kuwait, a country where approximately 70 percent of the population comes from someplace else. In lockdown within their abodes in Kuwait, cut off from their countries of origin, William Andersen and Maryam Hosseinnia reflected on the meaning of “home” over Zoom sessions. For them, as for many others, the pandemic engendered a reexamination of life and a reorientation of priorities. Their collaborative artwork Where’s Home? is an attempt to examine ideas about “home” from diverse individuals in varying socioeconomic conditions from over a dozen countries during the pandemic.
As it already had for many, social media and virtual calls became an even more important medium to connect to loved ones during the pandemic. Likewise, the internet became the primary means to collect data for William and Maryam’s research. In fact, the multiple layers of opened applications, documents, and browser tabs on users’ computer screens greatly influenced the visual aesthetics of their artwork.
Their research for Where’s Home? included collecting, for the purpose of comparison and contrast, over a thousand shared social media images and texts from participants of different nationalities in response to questions about “home.” These images and texts were then printed on textiles. By taking an anthropological-like approach, they hoped to fashion a more open-ended and accurate examination. Most importantly, the visual representation of this research gives voice to a divergent group of individuals globally. The printed textiles, along with assorted textiles found in Kuwait, hang from the ceiling evoking the domestic – be it drying laundry, window draperies, room dividers – and the symbolic, such as prayer flags and rugs.
For over a dozen years, William and Maryam have been living and working in Kuwait. Maryam is originally from Iran but immigrated to the USA because of political turmoil. She moved to Kuwait in 2007 for a teaching position and the opportunity to be closer to her family in Tehran. William is originally from West Allis, a small suburb of Milwaukee, but has lived in Taiwan, China, and Kuwait, seeking artistic, educational, and economic opportunities. Living and traveling within such diverse regions and cultures for much of their lives has directed their creative outlook to the notions of displacement, globalization, and hybridity.
William and Maryam have been creating collaborative artwork since 2010. Working together, they have produced artworks that have been exhibited in the USA, China, and Kuwait. Using traditional and new media approaches, their work is a fusion of divergent practices. They were delighted to have the opportunity again to work together on new artwork for Reimagining the Global Village.
about the artists
William Andersen’s artwork and point of view have been primarily influenced by his travels between the USA and Asia over the last three decades. During this time, he has watched as regions like the Middle East and East Asia have emerged as economic and cultural forces, and is fascinated by the tightening global web of economics, resource use, migration, and cultural hybridization. Because of this, the notions of globalization and hybridity are the central focus of his current artistic practice. Using traditional and new media approaches, his artwork often incorporates chinoiserie imagery, an interest acquired early on amid his mother’s collection of blue and white China.
williamandersen.net
williamandersen.net
Maryam Hosseinnia is from Tehran; grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota; and is currently living in Kuwait. Having lived in Tehran, Iran, during political turmoil, the regime change, and having to immigrate to America for a better future and education has had an enormous impact on the way she thinks, the way she sees the world, and how she processes information. These momentous life-changing experiences play a significant part in her creative process and how she engages viewers in her visual stories. Her work is characterized by an interest in converging different aesthetic disciplines, resulting in a range of things from graphic representation to spatial installation. Her work has been in exhibitions in China, Kuwait, South Korea, the UAE, and the United States. is an associate professor teaching graphic design and typography courses in the Art and Graphic Design Department at the American University of Kuwait. Prior to this, she was teaching at Minnesota State University Moorhead. She received an MFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in Graphic Design, and BFA from the same program. Aside from her creative work, she is a Co-Active coach and yoga teacher.
@maryam_design_educator
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