Belleville has always been my home, it’s a place that is comfortable to me and a place where I feel most at ease. Having been living in Montreal for the past three years, I began reflecting on how our home can shape us as individuals. I started thinking about the differences between two environments and how leaving home can affect behavior within them.
My most recent year in a fine art program was a reflection of that and the untitled photography series that I created was a way of expressing the sentiments I had. I wanted to explore the way in which people behave when they are exposed to new environments that differ from their homes. Through my observations, I became aware of how simple mannerisms or style choices in myself and friends would change after we had gone away. It was as though in order to better fit the new circumstances we needed to change certain aspects of our personalities. I thought a lot about how these changes often fade once we returned home and how it becomes difficult to deny these inherent parts of who we are.
The photographs were meant to visually display these efforts to conceal certain parts of yourself. I wanted it to be evident that the attempts are ones that are presented with obvious tension, something preventing the character from fully immersing themselves into the scene. The characters are meant to display their inability to deny the rooted aspects of their personalities that connect them to their home. I wanted to reflect my own experiences, using the Bay of Quinte as a backdrop to contrast the comfort of my home with the discomfort of trying to fit into a new environment.
To see the full series and more of my work visit my website:
https://monikakraska.myportfolio.com
and Instagram page:
www.instagram.com/monikakraska
