Moving house is a drag, isn’t it? All those boxes, the packing, the unpacking, and worst of all, you have to leave the house you’ve called home for the past however many years behind. The space you have made your own and has housed so many memories is gone and you have to start fresh somewhere new.
Now, take your house and pretend it is the country you grew up in. Not the suburb, not the state or territory, but the entire country. And you’re packing up and leaving. You’re not sure what will be waiting at the end of your journey but you’re hopeful and full of expectations.
Melbourne-based artist Tamirat Gebremariam has taken the journey of the African migrant from Africa to Australia and transformed his own experiences into colour, light, brush strokes and form.
Tamirat believes migrants carry a heavy load and often face feelings of isolation and disassociation that come with being displaced across lands, and he explores the changes in one’s past and present life through contemporary art.
