BJP: Your work often addresses themes of relationships, family and the home. Do you see these reflected in this new work?
VS: The relationship with oneself, which is also part of my other projects, is definitely part of this series as well, especially when it comes to facing your own ‘shadows’, fears and the reflections of the subconscious. The “home” is only part of this series in a symbolic way. Home is a representation of the inner self that we often see in our dreams, and is also one of the symbols described in Jungian psychoanalysis.
I often dream of either discovering some strange home in the forest or by the sea, or that I am living in a home that I know is mine but that seems completely foreign, and so on. During the lockdown, we are all forced to spend a lot of time at home, which in fact makes us turn our gazes inwards, and connect more with the inner-self.
BJP: Do you view this project as an extension of your wider practice, or as something separate and particular to the current environment?
VS: This project is, in a way, an extension of my old project The Space Between. But generally, all my work is somewhat connected by the general approach. I am always interested in revealing something that lies beneath the surface of the visible, and to find ways to connect to the subconscious.
I am always searching for a visual language that can speak to anyone regardless of their cultural or religious belonging, and I usually do that through universal symbols or clues that anyone can relate to, even if they imagine their own story when they see my images. I think I have developed this approach because of my immigration background. I have lived in so many different countries, and so often, I had to go through moments of alienation, dislocation, and language barriers, and therefore through my art I am constantly striving to build a kind of bridge between myself and other people.