‘Dear M,’ VISUAL LETTERS BY FAIZA HASAN
The year 2020 is a historical event. A situation in time that cannot be denied nor an individual could choose not to participate in its experience that has global repercussions. It was a year that challenged the existing forms of sociability and the way of doing life. The foremost evident encounter that this period resulted was with domesticity. An array of thought minglings from self introspection, contemplation, moments of self conflict to moments of silent observance collided with each other in a space functioning from the position of obligation. Dear M, a solo debut show by Faiza Hasan is a subjective reminiscence of the past year that it was.
Housed in a little cottage in GALLERYSKE’S compound in New Delhi, one witness’s musings with the personal archive of the artist. Artist’s archive that follows no categorization but encapsulates feelings, ephemeral and temporal dialogues and gestures, familial objects, documents that have long lost their importance and fragile presence of memory, all collectively come together to narrate visual letters.
To be able to communicate is the intention of letters. A personalised experience that is specifically addressed to someone important, someone who is dear enough. It is a gesture that allows an individual to seek comfort in the act of sharing. It would be apt to think that this body of work by Hasan is an attempt in the act of sharing that communicates her relationship with her personal belongings in relation to time. According to Hasan “it’s a very small show.” The number of artworks may tend to justify her statement but the physicality of the renderings of the personal belongings surpass her statement.
The title of the show is obvious and ambiguous at the same time. It is a beginning of visual letter(s) that allows one to engage with the works; perhaps an invitation. The ambiguity lies in the addressal. Dear in the title creates a moment of intimacy simultaneously disowning the viewer as it may leave them with a question, who is it addressed to? The titles of the exhibits bridge the moment of inquiry as they create a space of emotional connection with the seemingly abstract renditions of the objects with the viewer. 5 March, 2020 – Naazuk depicts a seascape rendered in charcoal, Mehfooz represents a young woman resting or may be sleeping on the lap of an elderly person, Umeed is a passport size portrait of a school girl referring to a photograph from Hasan’s archive, 28 December, 2020 – Aasman portrays charcoal rendering that is encased within a metal fragment. Artworks like these and more are part of the show.
The coming up of the show is a story in itself that is significant to the times we are living in. It began with a conversation between an artist and a gallerist who have never met each other. It is a result of a bond that developed over telephonic conversations between two individuals situated in two different cities. This is precisely what Dear M intends to do, to establish a bond and conversations between the artworks and the viewers who are unknown to each other until the moments of intimacy, personal engagement with certain objects and contemplation strikes them where the artworks become the vehicle.
Faiza Hasan completed her B.F.A (2011) specialising in painting from JNA-FAU and has a MFA (2014) in Art History from the University of Hyderabad. Hasan primarily works with watercolor and charcoal drawings often infused with embroidery and gold foil, and fabrics of domestic use. She has been a curator for the Student’s Biennale (2014 and 2016 editions) and has worked as a Programme Manager for Student’s Biennale (2018 and 2020 editions) at the Kochi Biennale Foundation, Fort Kochi, Kerala. Her work has been part of multiple exhibitions in the country as well as in Bordeaux, France. Hasan currently lives and works in Hyderabad.
Dear M, promises moments of intimacy that aren’t devoid of self introspection, moments that allow one contemplation over time. The show is an artistic possibility that explores themes of home, belonging, distance, love, grief and the mundane that comprises daily life. It is a reflection and a way to bear witness to the year of uncertainty. Dear M, is open for viewing experience from 3 April, 2021 to 12 June, 2021 at GALLERYSKE, New Delhi between 12 am to 7 pm.
Text by Kuldeep Patil
Image courtesy: Artist, Rishi Raj Jain and GALLERYSKE
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