FROM KOLAJ 21
Yasmine Diaz’s Freedom through Collage
Born in Chicago to Yemeni parents, Yasmine Diaz grew up with a distinctively mixed experience. Her childhood encompassed a complicated relationship with Islam, patriarchal Yemeni cultural and social norms, juxtaposed with the 1980s and 1990s MTV pop culture. Now living in Los Angeles, her work has migrated from oil painting and photography, to firmly highlighting themes of gender and bicultural identity; family honour, shame and reputation; expressed most eloquently through collage. Aryana Ghazi-Hessami profiles the collagist in Kolaj #21. Aryana Ghazi-Hessami writes about how Diaz used collage to tell her story of escaping the fate of a forced arranged marriage and a life of oppressive misogyny and limited freedom.
This article appears in KOLAJ #21. To see the entire article, SUBSCRIBE to Kolaj Magazine or Get a Copy of the Issue.
The act of cutting through memories and experiences, deconstructing and reducing them to the bare essentials was not only liberating, but playful. The immediacy of collage allowed for quick, easy and communicative way of explaining her experiences.
“These images don’t make sense together, just as the facets of my life didn’t make sense to me growing up. The world outside our home versus inside felt just as contradictory different as these pieces.”
This article appears in KOLAJ #21. To see the entire article, SUBSCRIBE to Kolaj Magazine or Get a Copy of the Issue.
The child of Yemeni parents, Yasmine Diaz was born and raised in Chicago. She studied under Brian O’Connor, Mikel Bresee, and Claude Grace. Her work has been shown widely in Southern California, as well as Argentina and Sweden, and is in the collection of the UCLA School of Public Affairs and in private collections in Argentina, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States. She recently completed a fellowship at At Land’s Edge in Los Angeles. Learn more about Yasmine Diaz at www.yasminediaz.com.
Images (top to bottom):
Bizarre Love Triangle (24″x18″; collage on paper)
I Want Candy (24″x18″; collage on hand-cut paper)
I Want Candy (detail)