samiha alam

Samiha Alam (b. 1997) is an artist and graphic designer based in New York City. Their work explores themes of hybridity and migration. With an interest in material, objects, and image-making, Samiha employs a diverse range of techniques and approaches in their practice.

A chimera can be either a monstrous villain or a mirage of desire. Composed of fragments of different cultures, violence, and hopes, the migrating colonized body and mind become a chimera of sorts. Though connected to their ancestors, each new generation of chimeras mutates in order to survive an ever-shifting world.

As a modern chimera myself, I use a multimedia approach to investigate land, objecthood, and personhood within a contemporary “global” colonial context situated in digital networks. Over the past decade, the boundary separating reality from the digital has steadily eroded, resulting in a world in which the digital exists as part of a larger reality. Virtual spaces and imagery are now as vital as physical spaces and scenes—sometimes even more so. The modern chimera, as described above, must navigate this hybrid reality. They are bilingual (or attempt to be) and are often uncertain about where they belong due to transgenerational migration. Through digital interfaces, modern chimeras are able to find connection and resolution within their existence.

My work synthesizes research and observation of these digital spaces. I primarily use digital mediums that are heavily embedded in commercial sectors, as there is a sense of cold intimacy that people have developed with digital art and design. When leveraged, this familiarity provides viewers with a more accessible entry point into my ideas and work. Absurdity, repetition, text, and propaganda are central to my visual language. I collage these elements to produce sculptural installations, videos, and images that communicate my ideas around cultural chimeras.