Marissa Rodriguez Schimizzi was born and raised in Canberra, Australia, but considers herself a cross-cultural kid. Her father immigrated to Australia from Málaga, Spain and her mother is the daughter of Italian immigrants. She is currently living in Málaga.
Marissa studied Printmedia and Drawing at the ANU School of Art. There she discovered the world of papercutting and found that it was the ideal way to express herself and her ideas around culture, identity and everyday struggles. She has had work exhibited at The National Portrait Gallery’s Head Space, the ANU Foyer Gallery and Theo Notaras Multicultural Centre. You can find more of Marissa’s work on her website: https://marissa-rodriguez-schimizzi.webnode.com/.
Artist’s statement:
Paths, papercut.
This artwork was inspired by reading about cross-culture kids and my own experience with depression. It was made by cutting a drawing I did into paper with a scalpel. I guess you could say this is me literally trying to carve my path. Below is a written accompaniment about the concepts dealt with in the piece:
In many societies, in many countries, in many cultures, your identity is set from birth.
Your path is set.
Your path is passed on to your children, and then onto their children and so on.
The cycle goes on and on.
But when one has many cultures and notions of personal identities constantly swirling inside them, sometimes it’s hard to find this path.
You touch many, but nothing feels completely right.
It becomes
A messy puddle of doubt.
What is my path?
Overwhelmed.
Consumed.
Melting.
Creeping.
Why don’t I have a clear path? Why can’t I just be like everyone else?
What happens if I never figure it out?
I fear a decision being made for me.
© Marissa Rodriguez Schimizzi, 2018
be:longing 