Left on Seen
What does it mean to be seen, but not fully recognised? Left on Seen explores this question through the lens of Third Culture Kids (TCKs), individuals who grow up in cultures different from their parents’ country of origin. I am one of them: born to Indian parents, raised in Dubai. For TCKs like me, identity is not fixed. It adapts in real time, shifting across accents, languages, and mannerisms, depending on who we’re speaking to and where we are. These changes are rarely intentional, but they’re constant.
This project brings those quiet, everyday shifts, what sociolinguists call code-switching, to life. Through layered audio and visuals, Left on Seen recreates the lived experience of tuning in and out, trying to find a stable frequency in conversations with family, friends, and strangers. The sound design blends snippets of dialogue, ambient noise, and glitching transitions. Conversations flow with no clear beginning or end, mirroring how identity blends across borders, generations, and expectations.The visuals, drawn from personal photos, signage, textures, and landscapes, are fragmented and non-linear. Like an old television struggling to lock onto a signal, the imagery shifts, glitches, and distorts, resisting the idea of a clear narrative or singular self.
Rather than offering answers, this installation creates a space for reflection—for educators, parents, psychologists, and broader communities to tune in more closely to the emotional and linguistic labour young people perform as they navigate belonging across cultures. Left on Seen makes space for what’s often missed: the negotiations of identity that unfold not in grand declarations, but in quiet, everyday moments.
