Stories of the flying carpet and genies of the lamp are more real than real thanks to the WIFI and 4G. Love it or hate it, the concept of time, distance and proximity continues to be reimagined each day. Mars is on the horizon!
Gratitude to the blessings of whatsapp, I was catching up with a dear friend and artist from Lahore. He’s been meticulously photographing his painting and drawings, and has chronologically published them online. In a conversation with him over this holiday season, I congratulated and thanked him for that sharing. I had sent him an article Continue reading What could’ve I been?
Artist and masseur Ali Zaidi gets hands-on about healing the body, mind and spirit. Ignore the picture though, he doesn’t practice rake-i.
Let me begin by saying that I was not always comfortable with my body the way I accept, respect and love it now. Love is an important word that I repeatedly return to throughout my work as a self-confessed connector.Continue reading A Touching Story of Healing Hands-London
1001 UnMasked ~ hyper-real portraits of gender brings together individual perspectives on gender and sexualities aurally and visually. What does it mean to be a man or a woman in the 21st century? What are the spaces in between these binaries? What is masculinity or femininity other than a culturally specific performance?
Till early last year I was calling this body of work Mas(k)culinities for reasons that seemed right at the time. Masculinity is stigmatized and problematized and I sought different sexualities to explore the breadth of being male. During this period voices and images of women were included to elaborate masculinity from their perspective. Soon I realized that fissures and scars caused by these simplistic binaries run very deep within all of us. Obliged to play out the ‘normative’ roles assigned from the time of our births onwards, is a patriarchal hegemony that has to be challenged. Individual point of views that encompass realities beyond dictates of the mainstream is the only way to disrupt this control. We have to create safe spaces for celebrating the ‘human’ in all its manifestations rather than be threatened by difference. Continue reading 1001 UnMasked ~ hyper-real portraits of gender
Nowruz, the Persian New Year is worldwide celebrated on March 20, 2017 and means “The New Day”. It takes place annually at the equinox in spring and so the exact date is varying. Nowruz is mostly celebrated in Iranian cultural regions, where pupils get a two week holiday to take part in this traditional family feast. People visit their friends and neighbours, exchanging small gifts and best wishes.
The most important Nowruz customs is the collection and consumption of the Haft-Seen, which means “seven seen’s” in English, according to the seven pieces of decoration for the Persian tabletop called Sofreh. Each of them symbolizes a Zoroastrian virtue. Rebirth, affluence, love, health, beauty, sunrise and patience are the seven wishes for the New Year that starts on Nowruz Day.
A mirror for the metaphoric reflexion of the old year, a living fish in water as a symbol for the new life, colored eggs for fertility and a bouquet of hyacinths representing spring are also parts of the festive tabletop. Islamic families add their Koran, Christians their Bible and Zoroastrian people a picture of Zarathustra.
On Wednesday before Nowruz another custom called Chaharshanbe Suri takes place. People jump over small bonfires in the streets, leaving all paleness behind and receiving the flaming Red of the fire. It is common belief that all bad things are left with the fire, which likewise gives off its brilliance and vitality.
The exact moment of the breaking of the New Year is not fixed with a certain time, but celebrated at the equinox. Before that moment could be ascertained easily via internet, the Haji Firooz, an elderly man, painted black and wearing red, danced through the streets on Nowruz, announcing that moment loudly.
The colour this year is white… may it bring peace and joy to the world!!
