This thesis explores the relationship between existential philosophy, diasporic identity, and artistic practice through the project B-SIDE. Drawing from my experience of growing up in Bogotá, Colombia, and later immigrating to Canada, it reflects on how survival, labour, and social expectations can lead to a mechanical way of living. Through the philosophies of Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Arthur Schopenhauer, the research examines how routine, repetition, and the search for meaning shape identity and perception.
B-SIDE is a practice-based project developed through repetitive collage processes using black paper fragments assembled into circular forms. These forms act as metaphorical “rocks,” referencing the figure of Sisyphus and the continuous effort to create meaning within an indifferent world. The process revealed that artistic labour does not escape repetition. It becomes another form of endurance.
This thesis argues that meaning is not given. It is constructed through choice, awareness, and action. Art becomes both burden and freedom. Repetition, when consciously chosen, shifts from mechanical habit to a site of reflection and agency.

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