Carmel Dor

March 16 - 19 


The Pit in Our Stomach 
2021 
Oil on canvas, 4x4'
photo by artist

Diaspora as Horizon 
2021 
Oil on canvas, 5x5'
photo by artist


Artist Statement

My work challenges negative preconceptions of the void inherent to unsettling change. As an immigrant and nonbinary transgender person, navigating the unknown is interwoven into my identity. I see the void as a deep expanse, simultaneously lonely and open-armed – space to imprint oneself onto. I reject the idea of completion, of the known unknown, and embraces the process of testing and failing. My work untangles the quality of time in moments where decisions have no known precedent, and one must build their own framework. How does time grow, shrink, or transform during different stages of change? What are the qualities of memory, futurity, and presence throughout a transition? 

My practice expands to search for ways my queerness shapes my understanding of my Israeli identity. Community, family, and relationships to our histories all frame my investigation into the construction of my national identity. My perspective shifts between personal histories to more expansive perspectives, mapping psychological spaces on a collective level. I explore influences that catalyze or stall the journey through change, and how community can both be a source of uplifting and upending the process. My work honors the liminal space where experience informs and reforms the self. 

www.carmeldor.com