14 September - 22 October 2010 - OPUS at UTS: Home September - 22 October 2010 ... Jayce Salloum and...
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Transcript of 14 September - 22 October 2010 - OPUS at UTS: Home September - 22 October 2010 ... Jayce Salloum and...
I first met Mohammed in Melbourne at the end of summer 2006. He had come down from Sydney by bus to meet his cousin who was visiting from Pakistan. Mohammed was gregarious, generous, full of laughter. Somehow it came up that he had arrived in Australia on a boat from Indonesia. He spoke of the friendship and kindness of the Indonesian people. He talked about the difficulties of settling in Australia.
I met Mohammed again in Sydney a year later. By this time, he was studying at a technical college. He spoke about wanting to return to Pakistan to work with his brothers. Mohammed was tall with striking Hazara features. But he seemed to be a broken man.
There are pictures of men like Mohammed in recent news reports. Five men were killed in an explosion on an illegal shipping vessel carrying 49 asylum seekers off the coast of Australia. There are faces like Mohammed’s amongst the groups of protesters gathered in downtown Toronto on a frozen February day. There are also pictures of men like Mohammed in Jayce Salloum and Khadim Alis’ installation on Afghanistan. These pictures suggest that there are many stories remaining untold.
The grids of portraits in Salloum and Alis’ installation intrigue me, as they represent encounters – however fleeting – that are not unlike my encounter with Mohammed. Encounters with strangers who disarm you. Strangers whose
life stories haunt you. The portraits in Salloum and Alis’ installation strike me as pictures of hope. They exhibit a strength of character, a tenacity, even an optimism, that is quite different from the impression of Afghanistan generated by mainstream media.
Yet these portraits also remind me of the yellowing photographs of the inmates at the Tuol Seleng in Cambodia – a grim catalogue of those who were about to die. We don’t hear much about the death count amongst Afghans. But I’ve recently started looking for it: in the news reports of increasing instability in bordering Baluchistan; in emails from colleagues informing us of murders and disappearances; in the increasing numbers of refugees seeking sanctuary in more stable countries.
Equally as disarming as the portraits are Salloum and Alis’ photographs of the impossibly picturesque central Afghan landscape. The cold air and ripe stillness of the travertine mountains are unlike the dry, brown, dusty landscapes of Kandahar or Kabul. What will always stay with me is a phone call from the artists at 2 o’clock one morning in Toronto. They called from the mountains three hours northwest of Bamiyan. They described a breathtaking view overlooking the glittering lakes of Band-e Amir. I was jolted awake by the sheer joy in their voices, their expression of a wish to return. Stealing beauty can sometimes be a form of resistance.
Haema Sivanesan
First published “Jayce Salloum: The History of the Present” Jen Budney (ed) Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, Canada 2009
(the heart that has no love/pain/generosity is not a heart)
ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
Jayce Salloum has worked in installation, photography, drawing, performance, text and video since 1976, as well as curating exhibitions, conducting workshops, & coordinating a vast array of cultural projects.
His practice exists within and between the personal, quotidian, local, and the trans-national. Currently residing in Vancouver, Canada, Salloum recently held a solo show at Artspace in Sydney.
He has exhibited widely, from the smallest unnamed storefronts to institutions such as the Musée du Louvre, Paris; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Gallery of Canada; Kunstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin; Centre Pompidou, Paris; CaixaForum, Barcelona; 8th Havana Biennial; 7th Sharjah Biennial; 15th Biennale Of Sydney, Biennial of Moving Images, Geneva and the Rotterdam International Film Festival.
Khadim Ali is a Hazara artist, currently based in Sydney, Australia. He trained in contemporary miniature painting at the prestigious National College of Art, Lahore, Pakistan, and in mural painting and calligraphy at Tehran University, Iran.
His work has been exhibited in museums and biennales including the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Japan; The Asia Pacific Triennial, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia; the Commonwealth Games Cultural Festival, Melbourne, Australia; the Venice Biennale, Italy; the British Museum, London, UK.
Ali has work held in numerous private and public collections including the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, the Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Above: Khadim Ali, Untitled, Rustum series, 2010, gouache, pencil and watercolour on paper. Courtesy of the artist.
14 September - 22 October 2010
Jayce SalloumKhadim AliCurated by Haema Sivanesen
Panel discussion: Friday 17 September 1-2.30pmWith Paula Abood, Stephen Dupont, Haema Sivanesan & Khadim Ali
Acknowledgements:Haema Sivanesen wishes to thank the artists and panel participants, Mr Tom MacDonald and Sharon Pinney from the Consulate General of Canada, Sydney, SAVAC Board of Directors, staff and volunteers particularly Srimoyee Mitra and Kohila Kurunathan and UTS Gallery curators Tania Creighton and Holly Williams and installation staff Paul Ogier and Kenzee Patterson.
A full colour catalogue accompanies the exhibition, contact the gallery for details.
UTS Gallery supported by Oyster Bay Wines and Coopers Brewery. Media partner: 2ser
Co-commissioned by SAVAC (South Asian Visual Arts Centre), Toronto & Alternator Gallery for Contemporary Art, Kelowna, With support from the Consulate General of Canada, Sydney and Apple
Cover: Jayce Salloum remnants, past in the present, standing buddhas, shrouded caves, bookshop storefront on the main street in Bamiyan, Hazarajat, Afghanistan, 4/15/08 [DSCF2741] (detail), 2008, digital print. Courtesy of the artist.
(the heart that has no love/pain/generosity is not a heart)
Printed 100% recycled paper
The
sile
nt lo
oped
foot
age
pans
acr
oss
a va
st
and
enig
mat
ic a
rray
of
sand
ston
e ro
cks
– th
e re
scue
d fr
agm
ents
of t
he
colo
ssal
Bud
dhas
– s
orte
d in
to p
iles,
cat
alog
ued
and
hous
ed in
she
ds n
ear
the
orig
inal
cav
e si
te. A
rel
ated
cl
uste
r of
pho
togr
aphs
de
pict
s la
rger
rui
ns o
nsite
, w
rapp
ed in
hig
h te
ch p
last
ic.
This
mat
eria
l doc
umen
ts
the
ruin
s of
the
Bud
dhas
at
a s
peci
fic m
omen
t in
hist
ory,
a ti
me
of tr
ansi
tion
betw
een
dest
ruct
ion
and
cons
erva
tion,
or
poss
ible
re
stor
atio
n.
Insi
de th
e la
byri
nthi
ne
cave
s, o
ne c
an s
ee th
e je
wel
-lik
e fr
agm
ents
of
fres
co p
aint
ings
, now
ba
rely
rec
ogni
sabl
e. T
he
soot
-sta
ined
dom
es o
f the
in
teri
or o
f the
cav
es a
re
dese
crat
ed b
y sc
ores
of b
oot
prin
ts o
f Tal
iban
sol
dier
s.
Arra
nged
in th
emat
ic c
onst
ella
tions
, the
clu
ster
s of
pho
togr
aphy
pla
y w
ith s
cale
and
com
posi
tion,
oft
en d
evel
opin
g pa
tter
ns o
f rep
etiti
on a
nd
reite
ratio
n, w
hich
pro
duce
s a
mod
e of
vis
ual a
naly
sis.
The
y re
cord
in
som
e de
tail,
the
bare
ly d
isgu
ised
rel
ics
of th
e So
viet
-Afg
han
war
, and
at
tem
pt to
cap
ture
and
com
preh
end,
if n
ot r
econ
cile
, bot
h be
auty
and
tr
aum
a –
the
dram
atic
maj
esty
of t
he s
heer
mou
ntai
ns a
nd fl
at p
lain
s,
the
dere
lict h
ulks
of l
ong
aban
done
d w
ar m
achi
nery
. Th
e ca
refu
lly
com
pose
d ph
otog
raph
s ar
e at
tent
ive
to d
etai
ls, a
nd a
re e
voca
tive
of th
e m
ood
in A
fgha
nist
an b
eyon
d th
e fr
ontl
ine
of w
ar.
This
pro
ject
take
s th
e fo
rm
of a
per
sona
l arc
hive
whi
ch
docu
men
ts S
allo
um a
nd
Ali’s
jour
ney
to B
amiy
an. T
he
artis
ts tr
avel
led
from
Kar
achi
to
Isla
mab
ad in
Pak
ista
n,
onto
Kab
ul, t
he c
apita
l of
Afg
hani
stan
, and
then
ov
erla
nd in
to B
amiy
an V
alle
y in
the
cent
ral A
fgha
n re
gion
of
Haz
araj
at. T
heir
obj
ectiv
e w
as
to s
urve
y th
e la
ndsc
ape
and
its
cont
exts
, obs
erve
the
situ
atio
n on
the
grou
nd, a
nd e
ngag
e in
en
coun
ters
that
wou
ld p
rovi
de
insi
ght i
nto
the
lived
con
ditio
ns
of th
e H
azar
a pe
ople
- a
pe
rsec
uted
Shi
’a M
uslim
m
inor
ity in
a c
ount
ry th
at is
pr
edom
inan
tly S
unni
.
The
Shah
nam
eh, a
n ep
ic e
leve
nth
cent
ury
poem
by
the
Per
sian
poe
t Fer
dow
si, w
hich
ex
amin
es th
e m
oral
cod
es in
form
ing
a vi
rtuo
us
mod
e of
sov
erei
gnty
. Of p
artic
ular
inte
rest
is
the
stor
y of
Rus
tam
and
Soh
rab.
Soh
rab,
es
tran
ged
from
his
fath
er s
ince
bir
th, m
eets
hi
s fa
ther
Rus
tam
, on
the
batt
lefie
ld. T
hey
fight
on
opp
osin
g si
des
of th
e ba
ttle
. Una
war
e th
at
he is
his
son
, Rus
tam
kill
s So
hrab
. Th
e st
ory
deal
s w
ith th
e fu
tility
of w
ar, a
nd
the
trag
edy
of m
ispl
aced
her
oism
, with
in th
e la
rger
con
text
of a
n ep
ic p
oem
con
cern
ed
with
the
idea
ls th
at c
onst
itute
a m
odel
of
natio
nhoo
d. In
Afg
hani
stan
, the
Tal
iban
ap
prop
riat
ed th
e fig
ure
of R
usta
m a
s a
hero
ic
icon
in th
eir
prop
agan
da.
Jayc
e Sa
lloum
and
Kha
dim
Ali’
s pr
ojec
t tak
es
its ti
tle fr
om th
e sc
hool
son
g in
Mar
efat
Hig
h Sc
hool
in D
asht
-i-B
arch
i. A
vide
o lo
op d
epic
ts
the
girl
s at
mor
ning
ass
embl
y in
the
cour
tyar
d of
the
scho
ol u
nder
a b
rilli
ant b
lue
sky
– an
im
age
of fu
ture
pro
mis
e.
The
stor
y of
Per
sian
poe
t She
ik S
a’ad
i’s v
isit
to a
sou
p ki
tche
n is
use
d as
a r
efer
ence
by
Ali.
Sa’a
di w
as a
ttac
ked
by a
pac
k of
str
ay d
ogs.
As
he p
icke
d up
a s
tone
to d
efen
d hi
mse
lf he
foun
d th
e st
ones
all
froz
en
toge
ther
and
won
dere
d w
hat k
ind
of p
lace
it w
as w
here
all
the
ston
es
wer
e fix
ed in
pla
ce a
nd a
ll th
e be
asts
wer
e fr
ee?
Ali u
ses
the
stor
y in
an
alle
gori
cal w
ay to
exp
lore
the
curr
ent s
ituat
ion
in A
fgha
nist
an
The
grid
s of
por
trai
ts h
ave
the
utili
tari
an a
nd u
nifo
rm a
esth
etic
s of
bu
reau
crat
ic p
ract
ices
of p
hoto
grap
hy –
pas
spor
t pho
togr
aphs
, ide
ntity
ca
rds,
lice
nces
, sch
ool p
hoto
grap
hs. A
rray
ed to
geth
er in
gri
ds th
ey
sugg
est a
com
mun
ity o
r po
pula
tion,
a la
rger
cul
tura
l ide
ntity
, whi
ch
desc
ribe
s th
e la
ndsc
ape
of B
amiy
an a
s a
site
of h
uman
str
uggl
e.Th
e ph
otog
raph
s w
ere
take
n at
the
Mar
efat
Hig
h Sc
hool
in D
asht
-i-
Bar
chi.
For
the
Haz
ara,
edu
catio
n is
per
ceiv
ed a
s a
mea
ns to
a b
ette
r lif
e –
mea
ns to
ach
ieve
just
ice,
soc
ial e
qual
ity, a
nd h
uman
rig
hts.
Sinc
e 20
03 K
hadi
m A
li ha
s be
en p
aint
ing
the
dest
ruct
ion
of th
e B
amiy
an B
uddh
as. T
hese
pa
intin
gs c
onfla
te m
yth,
poe
try
and
alle
gory
w
ith h
uman
exp
erie
nces
and
rea
l wor
ld e
vent
s.
Usi
ng a
uste
re c
olou
rs a
nd a
wat
erco
lour
ist’s
st
yle,
thes
e pa
intin
gs m
ourn
the
anni
hila
tion
of
the
Bud
dha
figur
es, b
low
n to
rub
ble
from
the
mon
umen
tal c
liffs
in w
hich
they
wer
e ho
used
.
(the
hea
rt th
at h
as n
o lo
ve/p
ain/
gene
rosi
ty is
not
a h
eart
)