Unimpeded around-the-clock access to personal studio space, to artistic debates and discussions taking place in town and then meetings in each other’s workspace over a cup of karak tea — the result is unique pieces of art by some ingenious local minds.
Providing an ideal platform for creativity, the Fire Station Artist in Residence 2015-16 programme brought together local artists working in different disciplines to put together a creative community. The results of a nine-month long residency were put on display this month at the End of Residency exhibition.
Each piece is original, filled with thought-provoking ideas accomplished through contemporary artistic practices. Besides a number of local Qatari nationals, the residency brought together artists from different nationalities and with different skill levels.
At the end, they say they have personally benefited from the idea of working together in a stimulating space.
“I would have loved strong criticism of my piece by a couple of difficult people. But what is amazing that these guys (the other artists) came together to view my work and they all said that what you are doing is real, you are talking about what is happening,” Othman M R Khunji, one of the participating artists, tells Community in a chat at the exhibition.
He says the residency changed the way he thinks and he was fortunate to be part of it. Khunji, originally from Bahrain, loves to work in conceptual art space. His collection of works at the exhibition, The Selfless Holy Ground, is a criticism of how technological advancements and their ‘misuse’ by humans is impacting the ‘Holy Land.’
“Being a Muslim and a Khaleeji, I have seen how things are being handled around. The concept of going to Haj or Umrah is going to be in the House of God, and earlier people used to go and look at the Ka’aba and be in awe,” says Khunji.
“Nowadays, it is like they get there and the first thing they want to do is to take a selfie and to tell the people that they are there. So it is about people’s idea of values shifting,” says the artist, adding that his pieces is in a way trying to provoke and get people to think about it.
Fitted with autosonic sensors, his piece with Ka’aba surrounded by construction machinery looks “harmonic, beautiful and peaceful” from a distance. The minute you get closer, it starts the construction noise. The concept here is that our presence in God’s land is fuelling this change, says Khunji.
Qatari artist, Shah al-Khulaifi, on the other hand, captures the essence of architecture and the ever-shifting landscape through photography.
“I try to add more dimensions to [photography] by adding a second layer, putting them through glass and then layering them, which creates a 3-dimensional effect. I also like to work with light, which gives depth,” al-Khulaifi says.
“The main subject of research is the urban changes that are happening in Doha and their impact on the locals and the people living around them. How not preserving some of the older buildings is affecting people, and how important it is for you to keep your identity within these rapid changes that are happening,” says the artist.
In one of her pieces of perspective photography, a man is seen in Old Doha and then he emerges from a more contemporary one. He is travelling through time. “I wanted to build an architectural design as I like to work with space and architecture. You can see this 3-dimensional affect with the past, present and future and it invites you to contemplate about your identity and the changes that are happening,” says al-Khulaifi.
Emelina Soares, originally from India but born and brought up in Doha, deals with fabricating an Orientalist perspective that she says forms her identity.
“I went to India and I saw people working with rangoli and I thought why not try the same. So I brought the dyes from India and I took sand from a beach in Doha. I wanted to use sand from here because I thought I was born here and it was going to be a part of my identity,” says Soares.
“So I designed an Indian rug, which is my version of it. I want people to walk over it because they shift my identity. So it kind of an in-process work where people are going to walk over it and they will keep changing it,” says the artist.
This huge rug of colours was created in 33 hours, with small breaks in between. She did it like a painting in grids — after initially editing the image of the rug on the computer, she printed it out and scaled it on the floor.
Working at the residency was great experience, says Soares. However, she would have liked even more co-ordination between artists.
Nasser al-Attiyah, a Qatari artist, showcases in his paintings his impressions of the outer universe. He has expressed, through his paintings, his own point of view about different life stories through a surrealistic perspective.
One of them, for instance, shows a ghost from the ancient tales of sailors in Qatar. “It is called Budriyah. He is a ghost who usually steals sailors and destroyed ships in the stories from sailors from Qatar in the old days,” says al-Attiyah, pointing to one of his paintings, a mixture of abstract and surrealism.
“I wanted to know what this ghost looks like so I did two paintings, surrealism and abstract to show people how I imagine this creature,” adds the artist. One of the most important subject in his artwork, he says, is freedom and how it looks like in his eyes as an artist. One of his paintings is about ageing while the other is about how the Internet is affecting people’s daily lives.
STATEMENT: Othman M R Khunji with his artwork, The Selfless Holy Ground. The work is a criticism of how technological advancements and their ‘misuse’ by humans is impacting the ‘Holy Land.’ Photo: Umer Nangiana
