I’ve been thinking a lot about new beginnings in the form of movement. I’ve seen this movement manifest itself through moments of migration, transition, and shifts within environment. I’m interested in working through these in flux experiences through the metaphor of spiritual reincarnation, viewing self-identity before and after these moments as a rebirth.
In LMFAO GUYS THAT WASN’T ME, I reflect on the multiple versions of self that exist, either through social performance or digital personas. This piece attempts to visualize the chaos of creating altered versions of self in similarity to spiritualistic ideas of rebirth. How many times have I “reincarnated” to move through social relations, whether it be through transition or through conflict? As I move back and forth between these visions of self created, I continuously move through cycles of rebirth, reimagination, and restitution. In an automatic approach to visualizing these cycles, the painting works through the complex emotions of starting new, in infinite cycles.
YOU FEED ME, I EAT AS YOU
Moving into the year of the horse, I’ve been thinking about new beginnings and how to battle the instability of movement through the metaphor of reincarnation, viewing the self as multiple versions that differ from each other after moments of change. This is what I view as the starburst, and is represented through the large pockets of colour in my paintings.
In YOU FEED ME, I EAT AS YOU, I work through stories of sacrifice in the context of reincarnation. In South-Asian spiritualism, sacrifice comes up as a device of devotion to ensure the next reincarnation cycle is better than the previous. Reflecting on my mother’s immigration and sacrifices for myself and my family, I use gestural movements to visualize this sacrifice and rebirth, passing physical and emotional terrains in search of opportunity and a second (or multiple) chance.
Continuing to learn from the knowledge of the past generations, I’d like to celebrate the new year as an embrace of hope through change, in the metaphorical form of a reincarnation.
Miles Saraswat is a multidisciplinary artist currently based on the unceded traditional territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations (Vancouver, Canada). Relocating from Treaty One Territory (Winnipeg), Miles is pursuing studies at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. His creative practice includes painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, music, and writing.
Central to Miles’ practice is the reclamation and redefinition of South Asian-spiritual practices in reflection with intersections of queer identity. Currently, Miles has been exploring oral storytelling and spiritualism, investigating reincarnation and rebirth as metaphors for life in movement through migration, transition, and environment. Layering photo processes, textiles, South-Asian patterns, and gestural mark making, his work explores intricate storytelling motifs through deeply layered imagery. By connecting traditional South-Asian visual languages into his work, Miles investigates the complexities of living in the South-Asian diaspora.
Miles has been working with themes of family tied into the diasporic experience. By looking inward at his experiences growing up in Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Vancouver, Miles explores what it means to be a brown person moving across Canada. Through this introspection, Miles investigates how his experience is impacted by in-flux moments both generationally through his family’s immigration and personally within his life.
By merging cultural tradition with personal and environmental narratives, Miles creates work that invites viewers to think about how culture, identity, and connection evolve past and through generations and borders.
LMFAO GUYS THAT WASN'T ME
I’ve been thinking a lot about new beginnings in the form of movement. I’ve seen this movement manifest itself through moments of migration, transition, and shifts within environment. I’m interested in working through these in flux experiences through the metaphor of spiritual reincarnation, viewing self-identity before and after these moments as a rebirth.
In LMFAO GUYS THAT WASN’T ME, I reflect on the multiple versions of self that exist, either through social performance or digital personas. This piece attempts to visualize the chaos of creating altered versions of self in similarity to spiritualistic ideas of rebirth. How many times have I “reincarnated” to move through social relations, whether it be through transition or through conflict? As I move back and forth between these visions of self created, I continuously move through cycles of rebirth, reimagination, and restitution. In an automatic approach to visualizing these cycles, the painting works through the complex emotions of starting new, in infinite cycles.
YOU FEED ME, I EAT AS YOU
Moving into the year of the horse, I’ve been thinking about new beginnings and how to battle the instability of movement through the metaphor of reincarnation, viewing the self as multiple versions that differ from each other after moments of change. This is what I view as the starburst, and is represented through the large pockets of colour in my paintings.
In YOU FEED ME, I EAT AS YOU, I work through stories of sacrifice in the context of reincarnation. In South-Asian spiritualism, sacrifice comes up as a device of devotion to ensure the next reincarnation cycle is better than the previous. Reflecting on my mother’s immigration and sacrifices for myself and my family, I use gestural movements to visualize this sacrifice and rebirth, passing physical and emotional terrains in search of opportunity and a second (or multiple) chance.
Continuing to learn from the knowledge of the past generations, I’d like to celebrate the new year as an embrace of hope through change, in the metaphorical form of a reincarnation.
Miles Saraswat is a multidisciplinary artist currently based on the unceded traditional territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations (Vancouver, Canada). Relocating from Treaty One Territory (Winnipeg), Miles is pursuing studies at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. His creative practice includes painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, music, and writing.
Central to Miles’ practice is the reclamation and redefinition of South Asian-spiritual practices in reflection with intersections of queer identity. Currently, Miles has been exploring oral storytelling and spiritualism, investigating reincarnation and rebirth as metaphors for life in movement through migration, transition, and environment. Layering photo processes, textiles, South-Asian patterns, and gestural mark making, his work explores intricate storytelling motifs through deeply layered imagery. By connecting traditional South-Asian visual languages into his work, Miles investigates the complexities of living in the South-Asian diaspora.
Miles has been working with themes of family tied into the diasporic experience. By looking inward at his experiences growing up in Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Vancouver, Miles explores what it means to be a brown person moving across Canada. Through this introspection, Miles investigates how his experience is impacted by in-flux moments both generationally through his family’s immigration and personally within his life.
By merging cultural tradition with personal and environmental narratives, Miles creates work that invites viewers to think about how culture, identity, and connection evolve past and through generations and borders.
The Lantern City is grateful to be held on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam Indian Band), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish Nation), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation). We acknowledge our privilege to be gathered on this land, and commit to work with and be respectful to the Indigenous peoples whose arts and stories inspire us to bring communities together.
