The notions of balance, interconnectedness and codependency within living systems permeates Kris Rumman’s multimedia artistic practice. Working from a background in glass-making techniques, Rumman often experiments with a myriad of materials, traditional and non-traditional ones, juxtaposing them with glass elements in her objects, ambiances and performances. The artist’s research into the physical and metaphorical properties of materials is closely linked to her immersion in the sociological, psychological and political issues of our times. At times, in subtle ways, Rumman’s practice touches upon her own Palestinian family’s history of migration to the US within a larger context of the 20th century and contemporary displacements and migrations. Here, it is resonant of Edward Said’s theories of Orientalism from his seminal 1978 book on the ways how power relations between the East and West are being constructed in modern times, as well as the modes of shaping perceptions of Arab cultures and societies used by the West.
