Saadi Saqafat (Our Culture)
Hassaan Ashraf considers diaspora and dislocation while thwarting expectations for easy points of access. His approach becomes an act of self-preservation in a public sphere.
Hassaan Ashraf, “Photographs,” 2018
six digital collages, 24” x 36” (photo courtesy of the artist)
Saadi Saqafat (Our Culture) is the first solo exhibition in Canada by Hassaan Ashraf, who has lived in Winnipeg for six years since migrating from the bustling streets of his native Lahore, Pakistan, to pursue a Master of Fine Arts at the University of Manitoba. Although no degree was ever conferred, the artist’s brush with the institution cemented his belief in speaking truth to power, a practice he continues to explore in Saadi Saqafat as he works through the challenges of diaspora and dislocation.
The exhibition, curated by Winnipeg artist Cliff Eyland, a professor at the University of Manitoba, is on view at his Library Gallery (L’Briary) until April 27. Perhaps as a testament to Eyland’s ongoing artistic and curatorial praxis, his hand remains largely (and respectfully) invisible. Standard curatorial practices of translating the art or offering entry points for the public are thwarted. Instead, the artist is elevated as the sole author and central medium. The result is a body of work that’s not easily accessible to all, but one that nonetheless demands our attention.
Hassaan Ashraf, “Blah Blah Blah,” 2018
screen-printing ink on roll of paper, 186” x 12”/ 108” x 12” and in foreground “Unlock your learning potential,” 2018 Urdu to English and English to Urdu translation book upside down on a pedestal (photo courtesy of the artist)
Take, for example, the central banner of the exhibition, titled بل بل بل (Blah Blah Blah). Written in Urdu script, it is a transliteration of a question and a problem: “Can you say that in Urdu please? I don’t speak my colonizer’s language that well.” The text is presented unapologetically, without any means of translation for those who do not read Urdu, leaving them unable to go beyond the surface-level aesthetics of the exotified calligraphy.
Hassaan Ashraf, “Tea Party,” 2018
green mid-century chair, vintage thrift store lamp, small table, tea cup and plate, Ikea round yellow rug, audio of tea party via headphones and “Me,” 2018, hockey mat, black shawl, sketchbook, fountain pens, hot plate, tea, sugar, tea cups (photo courtesy of the artist)
Similar politics are at play at the end of the gallery, where Ashraf holds court as the artist/host/outsider, sitting on a simple rug fitted with small tools to make art and tea. When I witnessed Ashraf’s performance at the opening reception, he busily scribbled texts in his sketchbook, occasionally looking up to acknowledge visitors bending over to offer congratulations. Instead of appreciation for attending, they received humble nods and responses in Urdu and Punjabi, Ashraf’s two mother tongues. In generating this uneasy exchange, more for the audience than himself, the artist twisted the welcoming premise of Saadi Saqafat into an act of boundary making and self-preservation.
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Hassaan Ashraf, “Photographs,” 2018
six digital collages, 24” x 36” (photo courtesy of the artist)
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Hassaan Ashraf, “Photographs,” 2018
six digital collages, 24” x 36” (photo courtesy of the artist)
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Hassaan Ashraf, “Photographs,” 2018
six digital collages, 24” x 36” (photo courtesy of the artist)
Ashraf’s sustained refusal to hand over his culture, his language and his gratitude to those outside his community is brave considering his position as an emerging artist at the mercy of an art world hungry for translation and unchecked access. Saadi Saqafat may be a late start for Ashraf, but it packs a promising punch – it illustrates, rather than translates, what it means to be visible without becoming vulnerable. ■
Saadi Saqafat (Our Culture) is on view at the Library Gallery (L’Briary) in Winnipeg from April 6 to April 27, 2018.
Library Gallery (L'Briary)
540-70 Arthur Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 1G4
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