Growing up in primarily Caucasian society, and over time, veering away from the strict traditions of my culture, I have found myself torn between following in the footsteps of my ancestors and creating my own path. This is an aspect that I choose to discuss heavily through my art, the culture that I was born with versus the culture that I have grown up amongst, and the difficulties that come with being pulled constantly in different directions. As time has gone on, I have come to find solace in my culture while continuing on my own self-made journey. I have chosen to accept the traditional parts of the Indian lifestyle as another part of the beautiful culture. However, now I choose what I want to be a part of my story.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Through my art I demonstrate this initial internal battle and then my road to pride within my heritage. Starting in 2019 when I created \u201cModern Brahma\u201d to now, shortly after finishing \u201cThe Festival of Colors\u201d, I depict a clear shift in my tone and attitude towards my upbringing and shine a new light on who I am within my culture. From starting off as resentful towards my heritage, which I demonstrate in some aspects of \u201cModern Dhulan\u201d and \u201cModern Brahma\u201d to now when I have found pride and my own identity within my culture. I show this is the countenance of \u201cThe Festival of Colors\u201d and \u201cGovardhan\u201d which shows a prominent religious scene in Hindu scripture and is a recreation of a wonderful painting by Bijay Biswaal, an incredible Indian artist. \u201cTrue To My Roots\u201d is a bridging piece, depicting my fight to be true to myself and pull away from anything and anyone trying to hold me back.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For anybody that happened to be at the event, thank you so much for attending. It was a wonderful experience. We had some wonderful speakers share their own experiences as Asian Americans and round out the event in a wholesome and beautiful way.<\/p>\n As always if anything that I discussed in this post stands out, or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Looking forward to next Monday!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n ~ Riya<\/p>\n Instagram: @riya_aggarwal.art<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/20220310_sdfj175731-211x300.jpg\")
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