This project explores the concept of immigration through ephemeral art. The university unit involved creating ephemeral work with a focus and appreciation of the art process. For this project, sunflowers were chosen as the major material due to the strong attachments the flower has with Russian heritage. As a child, I spent many summers running through sunflower fields, and devouring sunflower seeds, which has left me with powerful sensorial memories. The idea of bringing the flowers to the beach link to the romanticized idea I had of the ocean. Before my family migrated to Australia, I pictured life here as complete tropical beach paradise, but having lived here now for the majority of my life, I rarely frequent the beach, nor have the opportunity to appreciate it the way I would have if I were a tourist.
In this way, the project became a personal metaphor for migration—capturing the feeling of being suspended in transition. The frozen sunflowers, melting into the Australian sand, symbolized the process of adaptation, the blending of cultures, and the inevitable transformation that came with displacement, ultimately contributing to the formation of a heterogeneous society.
In this way, the project became a personal metaphor for migration—capturing the feeling of being suspended in transition. The frozen sunflowers, melting into the Australian sand, symbolized the process of adaptation, the blending of cultures, and the inevitable transformation that came with displacement, ultimately contributing to the formation of a heterogeneous society.
