"I AM AN IMMIGRANT" series​

Matteo Lorusso’s I AM AN IMMIGRANT is a powerful documentary-style painting series that confronts prevailing societal narratives around immigration. Through a bold and declarative visual language, Lorusso reclaims the term "immigrant" and infuses it with dignity, complexity, and humanity. Each work in the series serves as both a personal and collective portrait—a reclaiming of voice and visibility for those whose stories are often ignored or distorted.

Rooted in the theoretical framework of the Third Space, as conceptualized by Homi K. Bhabha, this body of work explores the layered, shifting identities of individuals living between cultures. The Third Space becomes a site of resistance and redefinition, where hybrid identities are not only acknowledged but celebrated. Lorusso’s paintings embrace this ambiguity and tension, revealing the nuances of belonging, alienation, and transformation that mark the immigrant experience.

At the heart of this project lies a deceptively simple yet urgent intention: to challenge the meaning and societal perception of the word “immigrant.” Too often, public discourse reduces the term to a static stereotype—an abstraction that dehumanizes and distances. Lorusso asks us to reconsider: What does an immigrant look like? Who gets to be seen and recognized? His work reminds us that the people we pass on the street, work alongside, or befriend may all carry complex migration stories—stories often invisible to the public gaze.

As an immigrant himself, Lorusso approaches the subject matter with deep empathy and lived insight. The series is informed by a process of dialogue: before beginning each painting, he conducts interviews with his subjects, exchanging stories and experiences of migration. These conversations are integral to the work—not just as background material, but as an emotional foundation that informs the visual outcome. The connection forged through these encounters allows Lorusso to represent his subjects not as symbols, but as fully-realized individuals shaped by love, loss, hope, and resilience.

Visually, the paintings are layered with intention. The use of oil paint built up over multiple layers, the inclusion of semi-transparent paper, and the deliberate erasure or fragmentation of text reflect the layered, often fractured experiences of immigrants. These material choices evoke themes of concealment and revelation, memory and erasure. The missing parts are not oversights; they speak to what is often left unsaid or obscured in dominant narratives of migration.

Begun in Bristol, UK in 2018, at a time when immigration was (and continues to be) a politically charged and deeply divisive issue, the series emerged as an act of resistance. It seeks to counter hostility with humanity, prejudice with portraiture. In an era of rising nationalism and xenophobia, I AM AN IMMIGRANT offers an alternative space—an emotional and political archive—where the immigrant is not a problem to be solved, but a presence to be acknowledged, honored, and embraced.

Ultimately, this project is a love letter to immigrants everywhere. It is a tribute to those who carry entire worlds within them, who cross borders both visible and invisible, and who endure with dignity. Through this series, Lorusso asserts that art can be a vessel for truth-telling, for healing, and for justice—a canvas upon which the invisible can finally be seen.