Vanessa Donoso López’s work focuses on a mental state described as Persistent Immigrant Homesickness. Away from home, people will almost certainly miss something about their home-place making homesickness a near-universal experience.
Some may consider the luxury of travel and the emotional response caused by being away from home to be the preserve of western middle-class travellers. However, current research suggests that an investigation of homesickness may be an important tool for developing strategies needed to improve the quality of life for those who are forced to travel as refugees or economic migrants.
The artist says “It is sad to think that you might only be enjoying a watered-down version of the relationship you might be having if you were to share the same mother tongue. Or maybe it is this unadorned speech that is the more authentic, the one which comes when you have not yet learnt to manipulate the said language into the shape of appearance, lies, sarcasm or puzzle”.