Half Way Home, 2011
Series of 4 inkjet prints
59.4 x 42 cm each Using self-portraiture paired with images of Vietnam, this work sees Mullens attempting to create a connection between her appearance and her past. Obstructing her own face, Mullens questions how her "visual indicators" of her cultural background suggested ownership of more knowledge than she possessed about Vietnam, her family and the war. Here Mullens tries to draw connections with her family and cultural history, layering the pre-war Vietnamese flag, the map of Vietnam and the landscape of Vietnam from her mother's photos. She hides her face, exploring feelings of shame for her ignorance and inauthenticity.
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