Art as a Stubborn Journey to Empathy
Artworks from Atlas of Being Series at Kapallorek Art Space, 2024
Introduction
Atlas of Being is an ongoing series by Malaysian–Danish artist Amir Zainorin that explores displacement, memory, and belonging through layered works on atlas pages. By cutting, collaging, and reworking maps, the series transforms geography into a site of tension between the personal and the political. The fragile reconfigurations suggest both loss and resilience, echoing Amir’s own experiences as a diaspora artist navigating identity across Malaysia, Denmark, and beyond. Each piece becomes more than cartography: it is a meditation on how migration reshapes the way we see borders, histories, and ourselves. Atlas of Being turns stubborn persistence into empathy, bridging personal memory with collective human experience.
Art as a Stubborn Journey to Empathy
Art is, at its core, an act of stubbornness. It begins with the refusal to yield—to conformity, to doubt, to the endless noise of distraction. This stubbornness is not arrogance but conviction: the belief that something within is worth exploring, worth shaping into existence, even if it is not immediately understood or valued.
Such persistence comes at a cost. It thickens the skin. Rejection, failure, and misunderstanding become familiar companions, teaching resilience. Over time, this shield allows the artist to continue walking the path, even when no one else sees what is there.
Yet within that hardened skin, reflection emerges. The solitude of making—the repetition, the experiments, the endless wrestling with material and memory—becomes a mirror. You begin to see yourself not just as an artist, but as a human being: flawed, searching, vulnerable.
And from that recognition, empathy grows. By confronting your own struggles, you recognize them in others. The artworks—like those in Atlas of Being—become more than self-expression. They act as bridges, carrying shared human experiences across boundaries of geography, identity, and time.
In the end, art is the stubborn act of beginning, the thick-skinned will to endure, and the openness to reflect. Through this, it transforms both artist and audience, cultivating the empathy the world urgently needs.
