Blast from the past

Some of the outcomes of the fast evolving technology, digital media and globalization, is that society is becoming increasingly desensitized and controlled by powerful establishments.

I feel there is a great need for creative, innovative, broad thinking and understanding to counter the negative effects of these forces and to bring about a better future for our civilization. I believe graphic design can be a major tool to shape society’s visual landscape.

Expressing myself creatively has always been natural for me. For as long as I can remember, I found great comfort in painting, ceramics and photography. In high school, I majored in art and design, where the mediums changed from being forms of release to becoming a means of transforming my ideas into practical expressions on subjects I found interesting and important.

I was born in the Holy Land, into the Middle East conflict, the world’s media attraction, the spiritual homeland of the world’s major religions. Into a nation of people who are unquestionably your family, where it’s easy to lose faith and be apathetic, where you create your own bubble to survive the mental tension, where there’s soldiers memorials at schools libraries, where awareness brings you frustration but where the vibrancy of the people, breadth of cultures, geography and weather are inspirational. However it is a place I chose to leave for now.

I feel very fortunate for my parents and the way they raised me with great love and freedom alongside directing me to my own path of growth and development. Following two years of national service as a flight controller I traveled to explore the world. I returned to India, where at the age of 13 I had my first encounter with different cultures. I fed my hunger for human understanding by living with local families and staying in Auroville, an experimental international village. I found the experience intriguing, it opened my mind and perception to a vast range of possibilities.

Since, I have come to my mother’s origins and been living in London for the past 18 months. The city’s magnetism for creativity and the opportunities it offers captivates me. For the past 10 months I have been a full time employee at The Old Truman Brewery in the East End. My work has two strong aspects; creative and artistic on one hand and administrative on the other. My responsibilities include photography, research and analysis, and this year’s administration of the Art & Design Graduate Show-“Free Range”. Furthermore, I have been blessed with the freedom to develop my own projects such as the recycling scheme I started for the Brewery’s tenants.

The atmosphere and experience at my work place inspired me to create a personal project called “Actual Movement”. The project’s primary goals are to provide a platform to present, explore and promote independent forms of art & music. The launch event, “Smile”, was held last December and now the second event is booked for the end of April 2007. Despite my inexperience in putting together an event of this depth and scale my determination pulled me through and helped me gain invaluable experience.

I find the work and personal experience I’ve acquired in the past year incredibly helpful for my involvement in the creative arts industry, future studies and career. I look forward to becoming a student, and having the opportunity to upgrade my practical experience to an academic level. Apart from professionalizing and expanding my aesthetics and technical skills I’m eager to experiment and explore my cognitive inventive abilities.

For my interests and the quality of your Graphic Design course and thanks to the seriousness and stimulation I encountered at the “open day”, the University of the Arts has become my primary choice.