The Pathways wall-mount cabinet symbolises my parents’ strength and transformation as they journeyed from Iraq to Australia as refugees. Its multidirectional tiles reflect the uncertain pathways they took. Each tile is moulded by hand, unique in its imperfections. Made from a biodegradable paper composite and concealed with delicate eggshell, the tiles symbolise both fragility and endurance, much like their transition to a new life.

Among these textured pathways, hand-sculpted clay oleander flowers emerge, their surfaces also finished in eggshell. In Iraq, the oleander is beautiful yet poisonous—a metaphor for the homeland they loved but had to leave. In Australia, it grows but is not native, just as they found a home in a foreign land.

Inside the cabinet, a small keepsake box represents the few belongings they carried—precious fragments of their past brought to build a future. More than storage, Pathways is a testament to survival and adaptation, where the materials themselves, natural and biodegradable, echo the impermanence of displacement and the enduring strength of those who seek refuge. It tells a story of movement, memory, and the redefinition of home.

2025