"Baby Never Grows" and "Paper Boat"

TO VIEW "BABY NEVER GROWS," VISIT THIS LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCKRmznc4gM&authuser=0

TO VIEW "PAPER BOAT," VISIT THIS LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lPkD1AWrV8&authuser=0

Artist Statement for 'Baby Never Grows': My piece 'baby never grows', written after Jamaica Kincaid's 'Girl', is an image of the antiquated Caribbean ideals of womanhood that I grew up with, interacting with womanhood as I see it now, as a means of my own personal erasure. In my country I was taught from a young age not only to care for myself, but for a husband, and for the world around me, as was, and still is, the custom. As I grew up, and gained distance from my upbringing, I realized that this caused me to equate womanhood with the erasure of who I really was, an outspoken, queer, creative who didn't fit with any cultural expectations. 'Baby never grows' shows a woman, free and expressive, though constantly turning back to what is expected of them, and a mother whose body has been entirely consumed by cultural norms to the point that nearly every time she moves, she disappears. 

Artist Statement for Paper Boat: Paper Boat is a piece filmed and edited by Marlo Irani, but written and performed by myself. It focuses on the experiences of leaving my home, Barbados, and coming to America for school. It dwells in frustrations about the importance of not damaging your VISA, existing in a space that is not meant for you and becoming a spokesperson for not only your own culture but for entire groups of people you are expected to represent, all whilst being expected to create art worth the financial struggle of moving to a new country.