Identity

Back To You explores the cyclical nature of finding and reclaiming identity. Like the Phoenix, identity is not a one-time discovery. It is a continual process, a commitment even, to burning, purging and rising. Each cycle asks us to be aware, keep what aligns, release what does not, and reclaim and affirm what was once shamed or suppressed.

The piece is deeply personal but also relational and I think relatable. It reflects the process of coming into identity through multiple lenses:

• Psychological self: Understanding thought patterns, emotional responses, and inner processing.

• Social and relational self: How society defines us, and how we navigate expectations tied to race, gender, sexuality, and roles (e.g., older daughter, woman, Black, queer).

• Philosophical/spiritual self: Exploring discipline, and spiritual practice as tools for grounding and self-realisation.

This piece expresses the journey of: Awareness, noticing how structures shape experience. Integration, applying lessons from consciousness. Embodiment, becoming a fuller version of oneself, including aspects previously off-limits or shamed. It is a meditation on identity as dynamic, cyclical, and liberatory, celebrating the ongoing and exhausting work of rising, reclaiming, and being fully oneself.