When you immigrate, many things are taken away from you. Your society, your culture, your language. The things that have been deeply rooted in your being for your entire life. I should confess that dealing with this separation needs tremendous power and strength. So in the first year of immigration, my emotions went up and down constantly. Therefore, I needed to figure it out and fix these unstable and chaotic feelings. I needed to find my rhythm first. So, the series “They are around” came out as a response to this need. Thus I grabbed a pen and a small notebook and got out of my tiny apartment to any green spaces nearby. Sitting and trying to see and draw anything around me, a tree, a leaf, a moving shade, a little squirrel wandering on the grass, any teeny-tiny existence around could connect me to this new space.
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/0e410c16-9610-447f-bc86-bef99cc6e2ba/0/0/0/0,0,3038,2913,3038,1200/0-0-0/6a9e7e85-8732-4353-8882-8dbd51fba271/1/1/170f.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037553138~hmac=6878628d0ff296a44d0964ab5f1e5d9c39ffb277662f6c8defd6e8b41cb28d1d)
They are around, Pen on paper,2018
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/0e410c16-9610-447f-bc86-bef99cc6e2ba/0/0/0/0,0,3065,2887,3065,1200/0-0-0/e0d552e1-0934-4bac-9910-aaa23c1fd08d/1/1/180e.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037553138~hmac=f476236a08a02461c428c6370257473e0f92c8b4990726fff38d334a9ceed099)
They are around, Pen on paper,2018
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/0e410c16-9610-447f-bc86-bef99cc6e2ba/0/0/0/0,0,3032,2918,3032,1200/0-0-0/e1471684-ad37-42df-84ee-aeb2de45717e/1/1/200d.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037553138~hmac=5018cd56b38932b52b71ed1e9ca082623485600e2d106d75c466486468880629)
They are around, Pen on paper,2018
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/0e410c16-9610-447f-bc86-bef99cc6e2ba/0/0/0/0,0,2291,2117,2291,1200/0-0-0/d970f8ee-7c49-475c-a16c-be44ecd872d7/1/1/250gg.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037553138~hmac=00256f136ed07e3d015334d4b0362d4b3f6a68b38787dc1e704302fb26a81b13)
They are around, Pen on paper,2018
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/0e410c16-9610-447f-bc86-bef99cc6e2ba/0/0/0/0,0,3049,2902,3049,1200/0-0-0/39347aa4-54ed-40d8-b8a7-d0617cd1dc2e/1/1/250o.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037553138~hmac=ad29c8149fc822e6e9d09e4b8c37524ce463b4722e77df45d0c7976a96b85468)
They are around, Pen on paper,2018
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/0e410c16-9610-447f-bc86-bef99cc6e2ba/0/0/0/0,0,3035,2915,3035,1200/0-0-0/a7389935-2f15-4585-9552-fcf43e7bf3ba/1/1/270h.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037553138~hmac=dfc448b0a861693b80d1dbe5b28a18b4e53eb788bfeee3dc237a5e09eef2a569)
They are around, Pen on paper,2018
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/0e410c16-9610-447f-bc86-bef99cc6e2ba/0/0/0/0,0,2285,2188,2285,1200/0-0-0/f347d0a9-7a45-4107-9378-ac1e8677c07b/1/1/Scan_20160926_5_.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037553138~hmac=929551da2644cfac89a435d6f04a8bab62cd40202a72334b20df77392be2ebfb)
They are around, Pen on paper,2018
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/0e410c16-9610-447f-bc86-bef99cc6e2ba/0/0/0/0,0,2294,2164,2294,1200/0-0-0/0200988f-cd33-4020-a37e-a3871ed54280/1/1/Scan_20160926_2_.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037553138~hmac=d35f951e5ea0613e40e1833702716a7139beca650b64a6224d71c9a5136c27a1)
They are around, Pen on paper,2018