Shamsia Hassani - chosen by Claire
Hassani was born in 1988 in Tehran, Iran where her parents had temporarily emigrated from their native Kandahar, Afghanistan during the war years. Hassani showed interest in painting from a young age. While studying in the ninth grade in Tehran she was not permitted to learn art as it was not permitted for students from Afghanistan.
On her return to Kabul in 2005 she pursued a degree course at Kabul University in the traditional art form. Later,
she joined Kabul University as a lecturer and then as an associate professor of sculpture. She established "Rosht", a contemporary art collective. She uses the colourfulness of graffiti to cover up the negative reminders of the war from the peoples minds. She claims that "image has more effect than words, and it's a friendly way to fight."
She also uses her art to fight for women rights, reminding people of the tragedies women face in Afghanistan.
Hassani learned graffiti in a workshop in Kabul in December 2010 hosted by Chu, a graffiti artist from the United Kingdom. It was organized by the Combat Communications. Following the workshop she began to practice street art on the walls of houses in the streets of Kabul. She adopted this art form as spray cans and stencils are much cheaper than supplies for traditional art forms. One of her works is on the walls of Kabul's Cultural Centre. It is a burqa clad woman seated below a stairway. The inscription below it, when translated to English says "The water can come back to a dried-up river, but what about the fish that died?" She completes her work quickly, within 15 minutes,
to avoid public harassment and claims that her work is "un-Islamic". ( Wikipedia)
On her return to Kabul in 2005 she pursued a degree course at Kabul University in the traditional art form. Later,
she joined Kabul University as a lecturer and then as an associate professor of sculpture. She established "Rosht", a contemporary art collective. She uses the colourfulness of graffiti to cover up the negative reminders of the war from the peoples minds. She claims that "image has more effect than words, and it's a friendly way to fight."
She also uses her art to fight for women rights, reminding people of the tragedies women face in Afghanistan.
Hassani learned graffiti in a workshop in Kabul in December 2010 hosted by Chu, a graffiti artist from the United Kingdom. It was organized by the Combat Communications. Following the workshop she began to practice street art on the walls of houses in the streets of Kabul. She adopted this art form as spray cans and stencils are much cheaper than supplies for traditional art forms. One of her works is on the walls of Kabul's Cultural Centre. It is a burqa clad woman seated below a stairway. The inscription below it, when translated to English says "The water can come back to a dried-up river, but what about the fish that died?" She completes her work quickly, within 15 minutes,
to avoid public harassment and claims that her work is "un-Islamic". ( Wikipedia)
Textiles
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Inspiration
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