On Private Lives in Public Spaces

In this chapter, Yemeni-American artist Yasmine Nasser Diaz narrates her artistic process as related to three works. She discusses research and references, events from across the SWANA region that influenced the works, the process of creating the works, and modifications made as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. She recounts how her understandings of gender and sexuality are impacted by her third-culture childhood, American culture in the decades she grew up, and other processes of identity negotiation and formation.

Keywords: Arab art ; art and identity ; collage ; coming of age ; Diaspora ; installation art ; Queer ; shame ; Southwest Asia North Africa ; third-culture ; Yemeni-American