The Beauty Of Seven Continents

If someone told me ten years ago that I will be so interested in the immigration, I would not believe it. I have never related to this topic until I ended up in the United States. Back in Russia, I often did not pay attention to someone who was in any way different from me. I did not have time, did not want to... Despite my ignorance, the problem of human migration from the post-Soviet Republics to big cities like Moscow quickly became a very problematic one. Without proper social programs from the authorities, newcomers did not want to assimilate, learn Russian, to communicate in a way they would be heard. They built their cultural communities and separated from us with the speed of light.

I used to have an apartment close to the mosque, and just in two years, the whole Christian area transformed. Suddenly whenever it was a Muslim holiday and while the worship was on, all you could see for miles were bodies of praying men on the streets.

Acceptance did not happen in Russia, and the consequences are hitting the country hard, building the ground for the rise of dangerous ideoligies.

Now I am an immigrant, and (what a joke) now I face ignorance every day, but I think in a country like America, this should not be happening.

I do not want history to repeat itself.  I felt strongly that the subject of social injustice calls for an artistic response.

My "The Beauty Of Seven Continents" project reflects on the topic of immigration and how it affects the culture and inspired by fantastic stories of success by women immigrants in the United States. Local California florist made seven crowns, representing seven continents, from flowers and plants from all over the world. On top of the printed photos I put a layer of oil paint and some dry florals. 

All I wanted people to see is beauty, nature, connection between time, all of us and everything with every breath we take. This is what immigration is about.

Australia, Antarctica, Asia, South America, North America, Africa, Europe