Childhood, revisited
My relationship with memory is tricky. I am an outsider reliving memories in this child-like documentation. My memories come in sporadic bursts, constantly shifting and combining, and being taken apart and rearranged. Truths are relative in my world. I create scenarios and stories to fill the gaps.
In my most recent recollection, I realized for the majority of my childhood I really wanted a twin – a narcissistic method of giving myself other versions of myself that I’ve always wanted. I looked at the definition of cloning and mitosis – cells duplicating, while maintaining all of their contents, and splitting to form two identical daughter cells, and used it as a basis for my work.
Mariam AlZayani is a Bahraini American designer and artist. She is currently part of the 8th cohort of The Salama Bint Hamdan Emerging Artists Fellowship. In more recent years, she has showcased work in various art exhibitions including at Sikka Art Fair, Art Jameel, and Fikra’s Graphic Design Biennial. AlZayani is fascinated by the ‘what if’s’ of design and the potential for design to manifest in different, evolving ways. In turn, the majority of her work is strongly rooted conceptuality and seeks to ask questions, as she is constantly drawing inspiration from her surroundings and interests.