Quotidian Blindness: Finding Commonalities Through the Overlooked

In this thesis, I outline my research project that investigates how everyday materials and consumables from the quotidian help us to understand who we are and how we fit into the communities we are a part of. My thesis questions include: As an Indigenous woman how can I unpack how subjectivity and identity are constructed through understanding my own identity as well as others? Why are objects and the things that we consume in our lives often overlooked? How can we interpret what they signify, and what commonalities do they reveal between us? Throughout this paper I consider my own identity as an adopted Indigenous woman and discuss the intricacies of identity and subjectivity and how these topics are continually being pieced together throughout our lives. I delve into contemporary artists and writers who explore concepts around identity and how we relate to others as a means to support this discussion. Through referencing writers and artists from the past and present, I discuss the significance of serendipitous moments that occur around us on a day-to-day basis. I define the everyday in relationship to my process, and consider what it means to concentrate on unnoticed items and how this informs my practice. I follow with a section about storytelling and how it is tied to my research and my completed artworks. Writing informs every step of my practice and helps me to contextualize the environments that I occupy and critically question how they operate socially. This thesis defines a practice that strives to learn how the communities that we occupy collectively share more than just the landscape. We hold connections together through our own subjectivity and identity that is assembled through commonplace objects and consumable items from our everyday environments. I am advocating for the power of these overlooked ties in society as they transcend the power structures and social positions we hold.