The Queen of Hearts Print

The Queen of Hearts” is an oil painting, painted in an analytical cubist style. It touches on the strands of issues related to immigration and identity. A feminine figure holds a pomegranate on each hand. Her look is serious, and she is in disguise with the help of her head accessory, a cascade of seashells. This feminine figure is disguised in order to fit into her new society. She is dealing with the struggle of finding herself in a new environment. The pomegranates on her open palms symbolize her native Armenian culture. By holding them, she is attempting to balance her native values and traditions with the clash of new cultural values and beliefs which emanate from her new home. The surrounding shapes and forms represent the new challenges and choices that she is forced to deal with daily, in her new habitat, against the backdrop of her background and upbringing. The big heart on her chest reveals her desire and longing for her home. In her heart, she wants to be in her homeland. The small ear represents a new foreign language, and the open eye is a portrayal of new things and places. Although I have been working with themes of identity for a while and have used Armenian symbols like pomegranates or Armenian colorful landscapes in my other works, analytical cubism is a new style and discovery for me, and I am happy with the outcome of this painting. I myself am an immigrant who has lived in the diaspora for the past 20 years, and, as such, the issues of immigration and identity that I am depicting in the painting are issues that I continue to experience myself. I think that this piece can resonate with my fellow international students at Concordia, who also share in the experience of being a foreigner. By looking at this painting, my hope is that the viewer can feel the confusion of my “Queen of Hearts” and relate to her battles with immigration and the challenges of living in a foreign land.