Hidden in the Leaves

First generation Americans are sometimes caught in a sort of middle space between cultures; Not being fully of one background or the other. In their 20s, my Syrian-Armenian parents immigrated from Aleppo, Syrian to an Armenian ethnic enclave in Los Angeles, California called Glendale. Shortly after they came to the US, I was born. Having never experienced life as a Syrian or Armenian, I can't truly say that I feel as though I am either. While I was born in the US, my upbringing was distinctively Syrian and Armenian, which has acted as a filter in the way of a complete understanding of the American experience. I can only grasp at different parts of my cultural backgrounds to construct an identity out of. These images are an exploration of myself within this middle-ground and the aspects of my cultural basis that make me who I am. A mix of people, places, and objects within my hometown of Glendale function as connectors to a world I’ve only been taught about, but never truly known.