KIMYA B. OSKAY

Date Palm / خرما by KIMYA B. OSKAY

“Date Palm/ خرما” from the series “Circles of Odyssey”, by Kimya Oskay, 2024. Acrylic on 50x70 cm canvas.

Date palms are typical in the Middle East, including my native country, Iran, yet unfamiliar in my diasporic life.

In this painting, I explore the complex interplay between nostalgia and destructive action. By incorporating a native symbol—the date palm tree—into a domestic interior, I aim to evoke a thirst for childhood and a sense of belonging. However, the contradiction of this action, as the date palm is an inherently external species, introduces a discordant element. With this juxtaposition, a potential conflict between personal identity, rooted in cultural heritage, and the destructive impact of this nostalgic impulse on the symbolic representation itself is the goal of visual art, my painting. The mirror, a recurrent motif in art history, serves a specific function within this composition. Its absence in the figures' awareness underscores their singular focus on the task at hand: transporting the date palm indoors. This deliberate omission accentuates the intensity of their nostalgic endeavor, as they appear wholly absorbed in their attempt to reclaim a fragment of their past. 

The painting thus encapsulates a longing for an unfamiliar and distant identity. Despite this lack of intimacy, the subjects are relentlessly drawn towards it, embarking on a lifelong pursuit. This obsessive quest for self-definition becomes a "Circles of Odyssey."