You are cordially invited to the Maiyan of Mr Nose Chana
Simran Chana
BA (Hons) Fine Art: Drawing, Camberwell College of Arts
Dear Mr. Nose Chana and family,
I hope this letter finds you in good health. I write to invite you to our son, Nose's, Maiyan and Wedding. Your presence at these celebrations would mean everything.
I frequently find myself thinking on the idyllic days of our childhood. Do you remember when we were small and staged our own little weddings in pillows? I still laugh remembering how we smeared behson all over each other in our innocent mischief and how Nose fell over while performing Giddha.
Nose's closet was our hidden treasure trove. We would sneak in to try on her sarees and balance in her not-so-high heels, feeling like celebrities. The horror of getting caught was half the thrill, especially when Nose called us downstairs that roti was ready, then surprised us with barfi.
As time went on, we diverted from the culture and language that once couldn't separate us. I feel a deep longing that we weren't taught to love Noses heritage better. The physical distance grew, and so did the growing shame about ourselves. We adapted to new settings, forgetting the beauty and warmth of our origins and the sacrifices that were made for us to get here.
Now, as I prepare to begin a new chapter, I want nothing more than to reconnect with our past and heal those old wounds. This wedding is more than just a celebration of love for Nose; it's a journey to relive the precious moments we missed with you, Nose, and all of the Nose Family.
I hope you will join us for this auspicious occasion as your attendance would commemorate the love and bond we possess as we celebrate just like the old times.
With gratitude and deep love,
Mr. Nose Chana
Artist Statement:
My installation explores my cultural lineage and identity, fostering from the conversations with my family around their experienced settling into the UK from India post-partition. as well as the Ugandan diasporic movement from Idi Amin's expulsions of South Asian people.
Through months of dialogue between different family members and collecting archived objects gifted to me from my family home, and joking about the Chana nose as the prominent identifying feature of our family, I ultimately became the curator for their legacy and cultural traditions by relocating these within the institutional space, essentially decolonising it and projecting representation of Indian culture and heritage.
South Asian prevalence within western society is high, but misconceptions and stereotypes still linger and haunt in generational trauma. By crafting a space with familiar and items directly from the South Asian region, I aim to create safe spaces for conversations around South Asian people and their achievements, and most importantly their diasporic experience and celebrating all that they have integrated and contributed to the British society.