Laika Dadoun

Art | Writing | Museum Work



Child of Diaspora - A Canadian Jew



This collection brings together works which speak to my complex relationship with identity, with a focus on my experience and perspective within Canadian-Jewish life. My goal is to present a series of works which connect to my Jewish identity and experience through multiple facets; looking not only to personal and communal trauma, but the beauty of my rich cultural heritage, the search for identity living within diaspora, and the fight for agency to live by standards outside of those set outside the cultural majority. A persistent and connective desire amongst these works is the provision of context dictated by and focused on Jewish voice and perspective, but complimented with provisions for context and understanding which opens dialogue beyond the Jewish community.


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Christian Conform(ation)



(C. January 2021)
Spray paint, and plasma cut metal on found object.



This work represents the history of Jewish students placed in Protestant Public Schools in Quebec, without representation in school leadership; lasting into the 1960s.



Front



side with cuby



detail of cuby



side without cuby



STARS OF DIASPORA



(C. November 2020, ongoing work) Gesso, and oil paint, on stretched
canvas
54"x42"



This work reflects the complexity of both ethno-racial diversity and connection within the Jewish diaspora. Each star colored to match a volunteer’s skin tone.



Promises Within the Henna Home



(C. October - November 2020)
Wood, henna, plaster and ribbon.



This work adapts Moroccan-Jewish henna practice in dedication to my grandmother, and the emotional and cultural model of her home



Side with lions



BACK



SIde with camels



A ROTTEN YEAR


(C. September 2020)
Rotting crab apples



This ephemeral work explores the subject of self-determination and rebellion. Created directly before the eve of Roshashana (the Jewish New Year) from 5780 to 5781, after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. It plays upon the tradition of Jews dipping apples in honey in hopes of a sweet New Year. This work symbolizes that even and especially within times of hardship, we can find connection through shared traditions; no matter where we may live in the diaspora.



Detail shot



DETAIL SHOT 2



My intention for this exhibition was to create a journey drawing the viewer that acknowledges, but goes beyond limited narratives of trauma or vilification related to Jewish personhood, centered around personal diasporic experience.



Statement on the curation of this collection
-Laika Dadoun 2021



I wish I understood or could claim a solid and unilateral sense of identity and belonging. But in the my art, I can piece together and express the parts I am getting to know, and share them as best I can. My work is often expressed an act of statement, yet, in reality, it is also a question and a time capsule of where I am and what thoughts are now, waiting to be compared with future perceptions and realities.



Statement by the artist
- Laika Dadoun, 2021



I am a Jew. I was born a Jew and will die a Jew. I am a Jew because my ancestors survived and adapted beyond pogroms, genocide, and marginalization. This work pays tribute to those who survived and those who were lost. To create is a rebellion in that it is a statement of my mere existence despite all those who tried to end my peoples legacy. Within diaspora I work to remember connection to my community not only in our past, but our present and future, wherever that may be.



Statement by the artist

- Laika Dadoun, 2021



Artist | Writer | Museum Curation and Education





Laika Dadoun