Artist Statement - Kara Miranda Lawrence

The film Oriana is a translated adaptation from the Portuguese book A Fada Oriana (1958) by the late Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen currently part of the country's elementary school curriculum. The rhymed narration and dialogue closely follows the spirit of Andresen's writing and the initial embroidered images relate to one of the traditional Portuguese methods of storytelling in which illustrations are embroidered onto children’s clothes.

Growing up in Canada, I never had the opportunity to learn the Portuguese language of my mother, nor knew much about her roots. During my Visual Arts studies at Camosun College, my curiosity about this half of my heritage translated into a series of artwork in which I explored my identity. Three years later, I was selected along with seven other dance professionals across North and South America for a government funded trip to the Azorean island of Terceira to take part in a workshop and performance. Fittingly, this workshop was entitled "Danca Dos Sentidos - Memorias Em Movimento". Translated to English it means "Dance of the Senses - Memories in Movement" as the aim was to not only inspire the local Azoreans, but evoke in the performers memories of their past roots.

Though we do not literally have memories, it posed the question of how our identities are tied into our ancestry and cultural background. The warmth of the Portuguese, their way of life and the beautiful landscape of the island moved me to create further work exploring and to contribute back by retelling a Portuguese story in animation form.