A&D ANNUAL 2021

Aria Joshes

Aria Joshes is an activist and multidisciplinary artist working across sculpture and performance as well as a range of unusual mediums. Her practice predominantly deals with family violence, internalised capitalism, environmentalism, and psychogeography. Her work also deals with oppression and agency to express narratives not commonly explored in art, opening dialogues not often addressed in mainstream society. The concept of family violence is rarely explored in terms of psychological abuse. At the core of Aria's new work, she enacts the 7 stages of grief experienced as she processes her healing from family violence. Her aesthetic often borders on the lines between absurdity and abject as she makes bold statements to inspire a call to action. She also makes statements that question gender identity and whether these social constructs are empowering or oppressive in reference to feminist discourses.