IMPACT: Al-Aji uses the gallery’s space perfectly to highlight the soul of her work. Photos by Umer Nangiana
By Umer NangianaWith consistency in colour tone, pattern and sizing, these simple shapes might look the same. Look closely. They are different. At times, these triangles are equilateral and of similar height and size, while at others they are different in terms of their angles, orientation and presentation in their given space.This is Ameera al-Aji’s concept of “difference,” and the possibilities and challenges of being “different” in her abstract art. The artwork currently at on display at Katara Art Centre Building 18 is a cluster of triangles of a distinct pattern of white and blue, placed at different angles. They don’t just look good, they create an ambiance that compels you to contemplate. In her installations titled as “Perceptions and Transitions, Interferences, and Change,” al-Aji manipulates several wooden triangles to visually capture the abstract notion of the “different.”The metaphor underlying such abstract representation is three-fold, she says. First, the repetitiveness of the triangles suggests the challenges one may face continuously in one’s everyday life. The variety of their sizes highlights the diverse levels of intensity of a given challenge one might face. “And third, the difference in their angles and positioning in space depict transitions we experience during various stages of our lives,” says al-Aji.In her exploration of the “self,” the “other” and the many-facets of what she perceives as “different,” she draws on the triangles that have persisted in her memory and her interactions with her environment, and which are also part of the traditional designs widely used in the regional wool-crafts and textiles called sadou.A series of six large-scale rectangular canvases called “In Celebration of Differences”, al-Aji marks her move towards experimentation with space and extensive use of white and blue. In fact, she initially painted the Celebration of Differences, 1 and 2, in black and white, but recreated them using light layers of white and blue in addition to acrylic and mixed media. Such transition towards brighter canvasses and lighter shades and nuances suggests the artist’s negotiation and reconciliation reflected in her appreciation of the aesthetics and effects the white and blue may have on the viewer. “The extraction of the inner abstract thoughts from a human being’s mind and their projection on massive canvases represent a dialogue between the inside and the outside, a manifestation of the possibilities of experimentation with the issue of perspective and the notion of change,” says the curator of the exhibition in its introduction.She creates the six large-scale canvases as a way to articulate a human being’s inner realities, which may trigger one’s fear in any attempt to probe into them.“Pyramids” is another installation that consists of one hundred and forty-five different sized pyramids, each of which is made of mixed media including paper, and white and blue dyes on foam. These pyramids, being numerous and of different sizes, symbolise the multitude of the individuals within a given community, and subsequently their differences at various levels, explains the artist.To enhance the notion of difference that may exist within members of a community or a given group or beyond, al-Aji assembles the majority of the pyramids together, giving them an aesthetic formation while only few of them occupy sporadically certain spaces in the gallery. Although most of these pyramids are conglomerated in a certain space and their arrangements are juxtaposed, overlapping or scattered, they represent a unity in their formation, interactions and interferences with each other. “Change” is an installation of twenty-eight equilateral wooden triangles. Each of these triangles has a distinct pattern of white and blue, placed on different angles and parts of its surface. Al-Aji highlights the human situation in its relation to the accepted social norms. “The majority of these triangles pointing and progressing toward one direction suggest the adherence to the dominant ideology as accepted by a given social order,” she adds. The four left triangles represent the minority which, despite being limited in number, continue to progress, though to a direction other than that of the others. “lt is not easy to be different for it means an individual is progressing against the mainstream,” says al-Aji. She resorts to a variety of triangles to symbolise the essence of human beings in one’s attempt to enhance awareness, knowledge and thinking.Al-Ajli uses the metaphor of the variety of angles found in isosceles, equilateral and right triangles to symbolise the diversity of perspectives. Although all triangles in one of the installations are of the same height, they are oriented toward different angles. The exhibition going on till March 20 is a not-to-miss one.