![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.lboro.ac.uk\/limit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/50\/2021\/06\/Experiments-with-lace-1.png\")
<\/figure><\/li>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.lboro.ac.uk\/limit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/50\/2021\/06\/Experiments-with-lace-2.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.lboro.ac.uk\/limit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/50\/2021\/06\/Experiments-with-lace-3.png\")
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul>Corinna Citro, 2021, Experiments with lace. <\/em>[Digital embroidered lace, printed hand embroidered lace, hydrochloric prints]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n A four-year contract from the government to work for the London Brick Company allowed my grandfather (on my mother\u2019s side) to move from Northern Italy to England at the age of 19. In my second year at University I spent time exploring minimalist installation work with LBC bricks and found that I became physically and emotionally connected to my work when I used these mediums to explore, engage and revisit his experiences. Similarly, my grandmother (on my father\u2019s side) left Southern Italy to move to England and spent her time sewing and cleaning to enable her to make a living and begin a new life in England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I use their archived voice notes and conversations about the difficult experiences of both labour intensive and repetitive daily routines and present this through text and sound within my work. Using my own motif designed from their memories of Italy and family members, I practice embroidery techniques on lace and use this to print with and to further explore and create pieces linking my identity and heritage to my work. The time-consuming process becomes an important element within my work, a time for reflection. As a result, the delicate prints act as a preservation of this migratory experience, this memory as a frozen fragment in time. The pieces celebrate my grandparents (and many others who have similar experiences) achievements whilst projecting my Italian roots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My Dissertation research highlights key figures who have experienced forms of familial migration including cultural theorist Homi Bhabha and philosopher and feminist theorist Rosi Braidotti. Both of whom challenge notions of thought and reflect on the complexity of our modern society and how one can use \u2018conceptual [and theoretical] creativity\u2019 in order to \u2018learn to think differently about ourselves and the process of deep-seated transformation\u2019 (Braidotti, 2008). Through this research I have learnt how I can use nomadic consciousness and creative ability to develop my critical thought and understanding. These notions have influenced the conceptual elements of my artwork and thought process around notions of identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Artists Sonia Boyce and Yinka Shonibare are also influential figures who reference heritage and identity through visual arts. Boyce, an important member and advocate of the Black British Arts movement, explores themes of gender, race and religion. Her fascinating works raise questions about representation and her continuously developing style results in a range of diverse works that speak to the public through archives and shared memory. Shonibare\u2019s use of patterned batik highlights a history of commodity, trade routes and African representation within changing societies. His medium choice creates innovative, colourful and exciting works that comment on his heritage and cultural hybridity. Both artists have taught me so much and inspired my work throughout this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.lboro.ac.uk\/limit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/50\/2021\/06\/Sonia-Boyce-From-Tarzan-to-Rambo.jpg\")
Sonia Boyce, 1987, From Tarzan to Rambo: English Born \u2018Native\u2019 Considers her Relationship to the Constructed\/Self Image and her Roots in Reconstruction<\/em>, [Photographs, black and white, on paper, photocopies on paper, acrylic paint, ballpoint pen, crayon and felt-tip pen]. 1250 x 3600mm<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n Recently my research has developed further into themes of Identity and the \u2018In-between\u2019 through installation. Korean artist Do-Ho Suh, specifically his compelling installation Seoul Home\/L.A. Home\/New York Home\/Baltimore Home\/London Home 1999 (<\/em>see figure <\/em>below),<\/em> makes a statement of his identity and explores notions of displacement. Replicating his childhood home with transparent green silk, he projects his experience of transcultural travel and perhaps comments on notions of the \u2018in-between\u2019 felt by those with ties to multiple countries. His stimulating use of space allows for viewer interaction, resulting in a thought-provoking place for reflection. This has fuelled my interest in installation art which I have been exploring in my final semester leading to exciting possibilities for our degree show. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.lboro.ac.uk\/limit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/50\/2021\/06\/Do-Huh-Suh.jpg\")