Cracking and Mending Contexts

Disorientation and Decontextualisation as Part of the Queer Diasporic Experience

Authors

  • Ditiya Ferdous Author
  • Noah Emanuel Morrison Author
  • Xingpei Shen Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37522/2cdqtr25

Keywords:

Diaspora, Estonia, Baltic Studies, Black Studies, QTPOC, Photography, Performance Documentation, Animation, Graffiti, Race, Acculturation

Abstract

In this conversation, we reflect on the experience of being QTPOC who lived and made work in Estonia from 2021-2024. As diasporic artists working abroad, we felt that the daily lived experiences of racism, orientalism, and acculturation made it impossible for us to pursue our practices as previously intended. We discuss how these cultural interventions forced us to adapt and transform our artistic strategies and methods.

Author Biographies

  • Ditiya Ferdous

    Ditiya Ferdous (b. 1995, New York City) is a Bangladeshi-American artist and filmmaker. Ditiya graduated with a Master’s in Animation from the Estonian Academy of Arts in 2024. Ditiya specialises in traditional animation techniques such as sand and multi-plane animation. Their work explores themes of diaspora, coming of age, and public space. As a researcher, Ditiya has previously examined identity formation on the New York City subway. Their recent research investigates the intersection of race and anthropomorphism in animation.

  • Noah Emanuel Morrison

    Noah Emanuel Morrison (b. 1995, New York City) is a multidisciplinary lens-based artist and educator. Their work interrogates belonging and aims to construct portals towards self-understanding for the marginalised. They tell queer stories about their family, their body, language, and the streets as sites of social reproduction. They have exhibited in Estonia, Finland, and the United States, and graduated with a Masters in Contemporary Art from the Estonian Academy of Arts in 2024.

  • Xingpei Shen

    Xingpei Shen (b.1994, Nanjing, China) is a Chinese-American filmmaker and animator based in Providence, RI. Shen earned a BFA in Film/Animation/Video at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 2017, and an MFA in Animation at the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA) in 2024. Shen’s work explores the interiority of Chinese queerness and the unique experiences of marginalisation it brings. Their film craft is time-consuming and labour-intensive. At the core of their practice is an ardent devotion to image. Working primarily in animation, Shen builds their cinematic imagery around ever-transmuting realms, often appropriating interpretive fairy-tale mythologies and Chinese cultural iconography to conjure a collection of audiovisual experiences of queerness.

Noah Emanuel Morrison and Xingpei Shen, Fated Encounters—from the Võõras Tõug Archive, Gifted Digital Print, Nazi Flyer, Drafting Film—from Aunty’s Housewarming, Aunty’s House, Providence, Rhode Island, USA, 2025].

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Published

2025-12-11

Issue

Vol. 2 (2025): Extending the Echoes: Ways with Documentation for Artists Doing Research

Section

Articles