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Kirk Witney Confirmatory stage
IDENTITY
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Evaluation My journey has been both enjoyable and enlightening. I am a Fine Artist and my theme is identity. I took some twists and turns on the way but feel my final results are where I want them to be. The paintings I produced are an accurate portrayal of my identity. I started with the opinion that Identity was facial and possession orientated. I began by making self-portraits using collage. It didn’t feel right, as the work I was producing didn’t seem to be taking me in the right direction. I produced some inferior pictures that seemed messy and I decided I that I needed to take a slightly different approach. I researched identity in depth and came across the philosophical writings of John Locke. After reading this I came to realise that Identity was gained over time and the influences of others creates your identity. I researched a range of artists who lived in a different country to that of that of their birth and analysed how this displacement had affected their work or otherwise. I produced a simple painting to represent my findings this, Black acrylic background representing the mind with white oil square representing our physical identity. I placed this white square in the corner of most of the pictures I produced. This was the turning point in the work I produced. My biggest influences, towards creating my identity are My Wife, Family, location and work. I have tried to include these within my art practice. I have a large family so decided that I would include only my wife, location and Work. My wife is the biggest influence on me and I therefor placed our picture within the composition, to represent both the reason I am here at the present time alone in Saudi Arabia and the fact that I miss home. My employment is important to me being a specialist area that not many people have knowledge of, and as there are few specialists in my field this is the reason I am needed here and why I live in this harsh environment. I live in a small town surrounded by mountains and a vast desert. It is hot, lonely, and alien and it is this that I have tried to show within my art work. I tried several different mediums and techniques before I arrived at my final paintings. My work began with collage work. Much of the earlier works were either pastel or collage, with some acrylic painting involved using a range of techniques when applying the paint. I also drew and used mixed media techniques. Using my computer and the GIMP software I produced a range of images by manipulating and adjusting the original paintings and drawings. I took photographs of the desert location to gain an idea of the shadowing and contrast within the terrain. These photos influenced my development pieces and this progressed my work. I started using a gel to print my images onto canvas board. I experimented with different printing methods. It was interesting Ink Jet printers when used produce rustic images, where the laser jet prints produced sharp images. This process is volatile, but as I became accustomed to the procedure I began to realise that the time element was crucial and I could anticipate the result, which could be sharp, vague or with bleeding edges. Imbedding the image within the picture indicated permanence as is my situation here. I included other images to represent my job here in particular diagrammatic imagery from a manual I wrote. The heat and the constant dust led me to use sand within my pieces and once again my Photographs were useful reminders of the natural effects visible in desert terrain. I used PVA together with the sand in various forms to bind the sand to my surfaces. My final three pieces are the accumulation of all my experiments and development pieces. The diagrams are needed to show how wrapped up in I am in my work, and these encircle my other influences, location and family. The first two pictures show the desert the last is a desert storm which is the most successful. I have learned the importance of the idea to a fine artist and how this drives the work. I have also become aware of how looking at the work of others and referring this to my own work, which I have done throughout this stage of the course, has been an invaluable element towards the final outcome. I have tried hard to explain how it feels to be in my situation and endeavoured to produce the most professional responses I am capable of. I now see the way ahead and feel confident in my ability to advance my work even further. Kirk Witney
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I started my investigation into identity and had thoughts of blood, DNA fingerprints and mug shots.
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Are the theeyes eyesthe the windows Are windows to to ourthe soul? Soul? It’s an age old question. I believe they do. Blood holds our DNA is this true identity. Our DNA runs through our blood, our ancestors had the same blood, does this make up our identity, and do they affect us from the past. Do their beliefs affect us now, and does this make us who we are. I think it is a large contributor to our identities.
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Collage of my identity through time and my adaption and change as location and culture changes me.
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Robert Rauschenberg “Considered by many to be one of the most influential American artists due to his radical blending of materials and methods, Robert Rauschenberg was a crucial figure in the transition from Abstract Expressionism to later modern movements. One of the key Neo-Dada movement artists, his experimental approach expanded the traditional boundaries of art, opening up avenues of exploration for future artists. Although Rauschenberg was the enfant terrible of the art world in the 1950s, he was deeply respected and admired by his predecessors. Despite this admiration, he disagreed with many of their convictions and literally erased their precedent to move forward into new aesthetic territory that reiterated the earlier Dada inquiry into the definition of art” http://www.theartstory.org/artist-rauschenberg-robert.htm
Much of his work is either controversial in its appearance or dynamic in its creation. A pioneer in his field? I feel you will either love his work or hate it. Unlike Warhol his work doesn’t seem commercially produced. He created his Art for him, influenced by the world’s events. I think it would also be pretty hard hanging a bucket on one’s wall.
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Robert Rauschenberg Used silk screening later in his creations, some say he found the process whilst visiting Andy Warhol. He was able to transfer his images onto larger canvases. This gave a more permanent fixture for his art. He had a more adventurous approach than Warhol, as he would add 3D images to his creations.
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Robert Rauschenberg (Untitled)
completed these collages and paintings but the more I found myself questioning identity. The more I researched my opinion of identity changed. I felt as was moving in the wrong direction.
did I though I
Rauschenberg People for the American way
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I
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I produced this painting and started to wonder in what ways the environment contributes to identity,
these create have media mixed
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I have put all elements together to my identity. I used a range of and feel that media.
I needed to include printmaking in some way this may help to produce a more professional result. I need to look at relevant artists now.
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In recent years Brendan Neiland has worked in Dubai and not unlike me has experienced a different culture and totally alien attitude to life. His work although mainly about buildings and the vastness of the place has a strange quality and the reflections suggest the buildings hold secrets. The identity of the place is hidden inside the buildings.
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Clouds Passing Brendan Neiland
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Andy Warhol
Beijing Gold Brendan Neiland
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Andy Warhol Warhol began to experiment with screen-printing in the 60’s it was not used much at that time. Marilyn Monroe was one of the first paintings he created using this process. The images could be created almost as if they were on a production line. The pictures are still revered even by the younger generations. The colorful images produce an atmosphere and portrays the identity of that person.
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Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Must be the first commercial artist. He produced art that was appealing and new. Nothing like this was produced before. Unlike Rauschenberg his work appealed more to the populous.
Mick Jagger 1975 Andy Warhol A Perfect example of Pop art. Simple colours but an atmospheric image. The fans would go mad for this painting, and probably posters were plaster over many teenagers walls.
Debbie Harry, Andy Warhol 1980 The great Debbie Harry, music from the 70s & 80s wouldn’t be the same without her. Warhol has captured her image beautifully. The high contrast image with the red lips. This is the image that defines that precise moment in history.
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Percy Delf Smith Nothing shapes identity more that combat and war. Even today men are defined by their experiences of war and their identity is shaped by this. This work is moving and not only provides a picture of what the conditions were like but gives us insight into the artist himself. His own identity
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John Constable
Constable’s work says a great deal about the man himself where he was born and where he felt most at home. This very much defined his identity and became the subject matter for his most successful painting 11 June 1776 - 31 March 1837
The loneliness and quiet of this painting is so beautiful. I have on many occasions been standing on a cold beach with just the sound of the waves. He has captured and expressed a moment in time that we can all recognize. Coastal Scene John Constable
of the clouds is the same the world Constable has captured the movement the day he painted it.
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The movement over. and feel of
Casper David Friedrich The wonderer above the mist is a perfect example of man and his surroundings. Alien to the environment and in awe of its magnitude.
Caspar David Friedrich “The wonderer above the mist 1817-1818�
Caspar David Freidrich
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Cape Arkona
http://www.caspardavidfriedrich.org/Cape-Arkona-large.htm
Monastery-Graveyard-In-The-Snow
Caspar David Friedrich has produced many haunting and distant landscapes. He travelled much and captured the loneliness of his travels. Cape Arkona is a beautiful example. He produced many winter paintings; these pictures emanate the silence that the snow can bring. I feel that I have a common feeling with Friedric. The loneliness of the desert, even though lonely has a calm and relaxing feeling about it.
I made this piece which shows al the legal and personal items I carry with me whilst I am here in Saudi Arabia. These items represent me as a person and its effects on my Identity. My personal footwear worn only here in Saudia Arabia
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Painting represents me through time and shows how my image
My identity is different whilst in the UK as I would not wear sandals back home. So other has people’s changed through Asis my face hasit ischanged so has my identity perception of me time. in the UK different to how here.
to others Do personal items and clothing in some way hold your identity? Does the smell and touch
Personal Identity There are many roads identity can take us. I started this line within my work. I thought personal Identity was pictures, cards forms and personal items, now I know it isn’t. Research now shows me that this is a most in depth subject, that also goes on to examine the soul. The most interesting path is the thoughts of John Locke. “Defining Lockean Memory Theory”
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“In the history of discourse on the subject of the self and personal identity, conflicting viewpoints have arisen. Some suggest that the self is simply the mind which thinks; others posit that the self is identifiable with one’s body; still others claim that to even conjure an idea of the self is an impossibility. In his Essay, Locke suggests that the self is “a thinking intelligent being, that has reason and reflection, and can consider itself as itself, the same thinking thing, in different times and places” and continues to define personal identity simply as “the sameness of a rational being” (Locke). So long as one is the same self, the same rational being, one has the same personal identity. Given this assertion, any change in the self reflects a change in personal identity, and any change in personal identity therefore implies that the self has changed. Locke goes on to suggest that one’s personal identity extends only so far as ones consciousness. He offers the argument that because in order to be a self, one must be a thinking thing, and that because “consciousness always accompanies thinking” (Locke), the self with which one personally identifies extends and persists only so far as ones consciousness. The consciousness Locke refers to can be equated with memory. This assumption is supported by Locke’s assertion that, “as far as [a] consciousness can be extended backwards to any past action or thought, so far reaches the identity of that person; it is the same self now as it was then; and it is by the same self with this present one that now reflects on it, that that action was done” (Locke). More explicitly stated, if one can remember some experience, Locke’s says that one in fact had that experience. It is by this reasoning that Locke arrives at the most controversial portion of his theory which suggests that the converse of the previous argument is true: if one cannot remember some experience, then one did not have that experience. Memory is therefore, according to Locke, a necessary condition of personal identity. Referring to states of interrupted consciousness or forgetfulness, Locke claims that, “in all these cases, our consciousness being interrupted, and we losing sight of our past selves, doubts are raised whether we are the same thinking thing” (Locke). An abridged version of Locke’s memory theory of personal identity would therefore conclude that memory is both a necessary and sufficient condition of self, and, therein, personal identity.”
I have changed my view of Identity. It is not only about documentation and looks, but growth and history. I have now decided to take a different approach with my work and try to emanate this in my work. 27
A philosophical impression of identity, the darkness of the mind and the light of the identity. The identity is always there.
The scarf is worn at times due to the dust in the air. This is as far away from my normal life in the UK as possible. I could be on Mars as the cultural difference is so alien to my own.
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Location
I have included the Identity Square within this painting. I feel that by displaying this within my Art instead of the sun I am displaying my spiritual identity, this is the real identity.
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Drawing, planning composition, I want to express the loneliness and heat. I also want to have aspects of my job the railway line within the image.
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Experimenting, trying to create loneliness and heat. The sun and the sand define my environment and physical identity has to be disguised to protect me but I am still me, my voice body language and the essence of me is still here my identity still exists.
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Drawing.... various compositions ...different plans, plants within the desert sand
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Peter Doig “Peter Doig’s paintings of Le Corbusier’s classic modernist apartment block offer a mysterious Utopia: cosmopolitan dream architecture nestled in (or imprisoned by) tangling wilderness. In Concrete Cabin, it’s the nowhereness of the scene which is strangely uncanny: the bright minimalist grid of the building beaconing through the dark shadows of the trees; an everyday glimpse from a suburban sidewalk twisted into something magical; a set from a contemporary fable. Peter Doig paints this scene with chimerical effect; cropping the image to exclude ground or sky, it has no physical orientation or weight, only the intangible presence of a fleeting moment.”
Concrete cabin, for me shows the contrast with nature and man. The bright un natural colours of the building holding all the lonesome people within. A complete contrast to the woods outside, natural colours. I can imagine the animals in the wild peering at the invasion
Peter Doig Concrete Cabin
Orange Sunshine Peter Doig It is what it says on the box. The sun shining through, the feeling of autumn, the red fir trees. Once again, the people at the base of the hill having fun gives the observer the impression they are having a good time. I love this picture.
White Canoe Peter Doig Well known for his paintings of canoes. The lake reflecting what 33 looks to me is an empty canoe. The image for me portrays quiet. Its as if he has taken a very old photo and painted every scratch
6White Creep Peter Doig I love the magnitude of the mountains, the way it dominates the painting. The smallness of the people at the base adds to the atmosphere. The white sky only a slight contrast to the mountain. Peter Doig seems to be able to extort his surroundings on his travels and let the observer feel what he must have when looking at the vastness of his surroundings. 34
Chris Ofili “English painter. He studied in London at Chelsea School of Art (1988–91) and the Royal College of Art (1991–3). In 1992 he was awarded a travelling scholarship to Zimbabwe, an experience that profoundly influenced his approach to painting. His works are vibrant, technically complex and meticulously executed, consisting of layers of paint, resin, glitter and collage. Ofili often incorporated elephant dung into his work. Lumps are attached to the canvas directly or used to support the paintings when displayed in the gallery space. His paintings are concerned with issues of black identity and experience and frequently employ racial stereotypes in order to challenge them. Thus in Afrodizzia (1996; London, Saatchi Gal.), the work makes reference to the stereotype of black sexual potency, and magazine cut-out faces are given 1970s Afro hairstyles, their names written in pinheads on lumps of dung. Ofili draws on a wide range of cultural references, from the Bible to jazz and hip hop music, from Blake and Rodin to pornographic magazines. This breadth of allusion is emphatic in the Captain Shit series which features a black superhero inspired by 1970s comic books, surrounded by a band of black stars. The humorous aspect of the depiction of an ostensibly powerful but also vulnerable superhero is recurrent in Ofili's work. He was awarded the Turner Prize in 1998. By 2000 his work was in the permanent collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, the Tate Gallery, London, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.” http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/chris-ofili-2543 Metamorphosis Chris Ofili This is a most beautiful and sensual picture. Its impression on me is a feeling of love and emotion. Much of Chris Ofilis work has a feeling of African origin. This for me could be from any culture. It’s a perfect mixture of travel and imagination showing his experiences within his work.
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Chris Offil’s work is very African looking and describes an environment he is not experiencing in the UK. Despite living in the UK Chris is haunted by his heritage and feels compelled to return to the land of his ancestors in order to find his identity.
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Royals Chris Offili
Afro Lunar Lovers Chris Ofili
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Drawing trying to gain the correct atmosphere. I was going to use images from my past but felt this would not give the image I wanted to portray.
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Seven Pillars of wisdom “Under the indifferent heaven. By day the hot sun fermented us; and we were Dizzied by the beating wind. At night we were stained by dew, and Shamed into pettiness by the innumerable silences of stars” T E Lawrence
T E Lawrence has written much on his time in Arabia. Nothing more than these quotes from his book Seven pillars of wisdom. “By day the hot sun fermented us” it is a heat like I have never before experienced. It is so dry one does not sweat, the sun evaporates it as soon as it leaves the body. “Dizzied by the beating wind” the wind can feel warmer than the sun beating down on your head. “The innumerable silences of stars” The desert at night has a silence that can calm the soul. The peace and quiet smothers you into a cocoon, relaxed security. 40
“A pathless sea of sand, stretching nearly to the Populous escarpment of the Indian Ocean shore, shutting it out from Arabian history, and from all influence” I understand this quote, “a pathless sea of sand” for me here, that is precisely what I see. When I drive 650km to Riyadh I drive through only what I can explain is an orange sea of sand. Nothing can change its appearance.
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I have tried a slightly different approach to this Piece, using a different image of myself, but feel this is not a good perception of me and is not part of my identity.
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This is a photo I took here on site of the inside of an actual sand storm I love the orange and the yellow sun preening through. A storm like this can kill a person in minutes yet it is so beautiful.
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I have tried to create the same sandstorm as above. Darker colours are needed I want to include this within my work. I am finding it easier at creating the right atmosphere. How the dust and sand storms conceal the sun is coming together.
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The final paining is a good representation of how it feels to be in the desert My photo imposed within the sand storm using software on the computer. This gives a good impression that I am within the storm. I feel as though my work is going in a good direction.
Photographs I have taken surroundings
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of my
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Computer generated trying to produced, the best paintings. All the photos look to formal and not affective.
Computer generated, experimenting on how the image of my scarfed face will look buried in the sand.
I have taken many prints of my scarfed face different sizes. This is just a small example of them.
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Printing on canvas board I painted the background black but the print didn’t take
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FAMILY
Family is a big part of my life and the biggest part is my wife. She has contributed the most to my identity. I read that it is not possible to use ink jet prints so I tried. Even though the ink ran the pictures are rustic and pleasing to the eye.
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Of all the pictures I have this is to me. It was the first day of
I have decided to within my work. I different ways to gain
Poster size. I printed this photo out on a plotter printer; it was a very blotchy image. I re painted the image using pastels to give it a painting impression to use within my work.
the one that means the most our life together
introduce sand have tested the better texture.
I now need to experiment more to achieve an indication of the textures and processes I will need to best describe the environment in which I live. I have used acrylic paint to give differing colors to the sand to see what 55
types of shading I can achieve. PVA seems to be the best application for shape. PVA is the best way to go forward.
Drawing trying to gain the correct atmosphere. I was going to use images from my past but felt this would not give the image I wanted to portray.
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I have tried to create impressions within the sand
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Job
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My Career
Dimitris Foutris b 1972 After Van Dyke Dimitris a Greek artist, the above painting is an unusual approach in my opinion. I can relate to this approach. Dimitris Foutris is overlaying a modern image over a grand master. The way in which the diagram is included although 59
First time trying to include my work within my art. This is an important part of my identity. Dimitris has given me the incite that alien images can be placed within a painting. This is an important part of my experience and I will try to include this within my work.
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I am here in Saudi Arabia for my Employment. This is a huge part Of my identity. By including these diagrams I feel I am displaying My true identity.
I am still looking to the identity symbol diagram and sand and if or how to include them in my work
I have imposed my photo to give the impression I am within the storm but added my job diagram within the sky. I have tried to give the impression of the remoteness and that my work is a big part of my identity. I am involved with the training and commissioning of the signalling system here in Saudi. The imagery of the system is inspiring and colourful. It has been a huge part of my career and I know the operation and complexities like very few 61 people in the world as it is such a new system. I have written the operations instruction and rules and use many of these diagrams in my everyday employment. Every dot, triangle and line means something to me, I know precisely what they do and mean. I am considering using this imagery in other parts of my Art.
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I am beginning to see how my job here and my family can be represented entwined somehow in my final outcomes
The painting completed I feel I am getting somewhere with my experimentation. By printing the image onto the canvas using inkjet instead of laser jet printing it gives it a rustic feeling. I have buried my image into the sand as it gives the impression of how immersed I am within my environment.
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Composition and design I intend to use for my final works.
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I threw sand onto the painting on which there was wet, watered down PVA the thick lines I painted bled and the diagram looked less than perfect. It signified me being enveloped by my job which overwhelms me at time. I made more detail in the desert background and wanted to give the impression of being encircled by, and at times confused by my work against the permanence of the desert. I feel that this needs further perfecting
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One of my final paintings is where I again used mixed media. This shows my work wrapped around me and I am within the desert sand. My employment being the sole is reason I am here is contributing to and changing aspects of my identity. My identity stems from my origins, my heritage ,family, If my understanding of my identity changes is my inner identity still the same?
My next painting shows the time line, the more I am here the more I grow. I brought the printed image of me and my wife outside the white square as I feel we are bigger than my single identity.
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Whereas the previous pieces provide almost the same information this piece shows the sand storm surrounding me, but the light of my identity still shines through. I am engrossed in my job and it takes up much of my time. Every colored line dot and triangle means something to me. It is my job. This painting succeeds in indicating the essence of my identity at the present time. I have shown it to a colleague who totally understood the painting. My true identity is still there, and when back home I question whether I will revert to my old identity but realize that I will have been enriched by my experiences here in Saudi Arabia. This lonely desolate place has changed me, and I will take a piece of Saudi Arabia with me wherever I go in the future. It will always in some way inform, and be a part of my identity.
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