Photographic Negative removed from Cellulose Substrate
6 x 2 cm
Unique Object
My Jid-dy was born in Australia to Lebanese parents who spoke little or no English and he seemed to me, determined to shed the appearance of being a foreigner. His children were born at the height of the White Australia Policy, making this imperative all the more pressing.
My father and his brothers and sisters, were never taught Arabic and so this overt signifier of other was never passed on to me. In other matters though (cooking, rules of interaction between family etc), I was raised in the only way my family knew how: influenced by a unique blend of Arabic and Anglo-Australian culture.
As I age, the subtle differences between these two influences become more and more evident and I long for a greater understanding of the culture from which my family came.