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Raazeen Merchant
Shaped by Culture
My work investigates how identity exists as a layered and complex phenomenon. Identity is shaped by culture, environment, and societal expectations. The project began with examining the presence of multiple cultural influences within myself and how they may or may not coexist harmoniously. This interest stems from my experience of being raised as a Pakistani and as an American. Although these identities make up who I am, they often conflict with one another. One is frequently celebrated while the other is repeatedly silenced. These two conflicting identities have impacted how I present myself to others. These identities interact, overlap, and in the current state of the world often conflict. Therefore, the intent was to explore what it means for these identities to coexist in unison as well as to express the complexities of possessing multiple identities at once. In short, this matter is crucial for design because people often focus solely on American design and don’t highlight other cultures, even though many people bear multiple identities. My work aims to merge different identities in order to express cultural duality.
