30 Portraits of Refugees
A grant recipient of the Krishen Jit Fund 2021
THE ARTIST'S THOUGHTS
In my artistic work, the theme of refugees serves as a metaphor and symbolises the journey of life. The refugees' original homeland was never truly their home, and their future resettlement will also not provide a true sense of belonging. Therefore, the essence of their identity lies in their perpetual state of journeying—a deeply human quality. If refugees had a flag, its colour would undoubtedly be blue, resembling the vastness of the sea. This hue symbolises the profound sadness they experience in life.
While these paintings depict the faces of individuals, I specifically chose to portray refugees, a group of thirty individuals. This deliberate choice stems from my dedication to shed light on and draw attention to those enduring challenging journeys that I personally empathise with.
By painting portraits of refugees, I aim to further my exploration of human portraiture. These paintings were created by referencing video recordings, as opposed to photographs, imbuing the works with a subjective temporality. The incorporation of "simultaneity" in the painting process enables the depiction of multiple moments within a single artwork.
It is my hope that viewers will immerse themselves in each portrait, metaphorically wearing them as masks. I encourage a sense of connection and empathy, allowing viewers to relate to the subjects on a personal level. These paintings possess a quality reminiscent of man-made masks throughout history, which have played a significant role in artistic expression.
To evoke a deeper emotional response, I have employed exaggerated forms and shapes in these portraits. The rough contours and accentuated brushstrokes are intended to elicit a desire within the viewer to almost touch these faces within their mind's eye.
The subjective experience of the artist is crucial to enable viewers to enter an 'intuitive' state of mind while engaging with the portraits. As Vincent van Gogh once said, "Real painters do not paint things as they are. They paint them as they themselves feel them to be." I have strived to capture the complexity, the weight of emptiness carried by the subjects, and the intricacies of their countenances in these portraits.
THE APPROACH
The refugees were captured through an online space facilitated by technology, at a time when physical interactions were endangered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These experiments were conducted within a virtual realm.
In the past, the sitter would have to be physically present. With this project, I experimented with video call sittings, in response to the MCO situation, or to make it convenient for the refugee and migrant sitters who could not take time off work to come. Our experience of seeing one another and connecting is influenced, if not completely changed, by the technology that allows us to make video call connections across borders. This factor, plus the restrictions caused by various phenomena such as migration, exile, and more recently, the pandemic; was something I wanted to include into into my artistic process. If it is in my life experience, I would like for it to be in my art experience too.
Where in the past sitters were required to hold a pose and sit still for hours, or even multiple sessions, I did not have this luxury with my sitters due to their other commitments. I arranged for a video call with each sitter and asked for permission to record the session for reference. On average, each call took about 15 minutes. I talked and engaged with my sitter, and they were free to move and look around during the session. All this is not only an adaptation to meet needs, but more importantly, highly symbolic and related to the transitory experience and state of mind of my refugee sitters. (And to myself, as a refugee too.)
The following message was sent out to potential sitters, and when required, translated versions in Arabic and Farsi were also sent.
THE PROCESS
Later, alone in my studio, I replayed the sitter’s video recording on a continuous loop with the sound muted. I painted fast, and with bold and visible brush strokes, so as to avoid capturing the surface details that a camera’s eye sees. Instead, I aimed to capture the intensity and existential experience of my sitter.
The sitter was across the line, somewhere... I knew that this person, whose name is A, is a refugee, or a migrant... they are sitting in a room... but what is their life like? I didn’t know. Did they have a job? I didn’t ask. Did they have a dream? I didn’t know.
To express the things that I didn’t know, I used colors and lines. I recorded my observations in a visual language, and create expressions on the canvas. That ‘not knowing’ is sometimes a more honest expression than what we claim to know.
To me, there were greater truths in these sitters that I tried to portray; such as the fact that they are humans. They are survivors. They are fighters who are fighting for their chance to stay alive. They are human beings who demonstrate power. That power I aim to search, find and express in these portraits.
Photo by Amin Kamrani
THE OUTCOME
I wished for my existential experience to meet the sitter’s, and to portray their energy and courage on my canvas. The boldness of my strokes are also symbolic of the boldness that is in the spirit of every refugee – the boldness that carried them from their troubled homelands, and that continues to sustain them in this new and often harsh environment.
The style of these portraits are not naturalistic nor aiming to depict how the subject looks objectively. Rather, it is to record my experience of trying to see through the limitations of technology and distance manifested in the way the sitter is positioned – on the other end on the line, sometimes even across borders. In this practice of looking and painting from the computer screen, that which is invisible, filtered by the camera and not sharp enough, is more significant to the painter than a clear photo of the sitter, or having them sit in front of him in real space.
THE PORTRAITS
We have UNHCR and other NGOs to provide us with their extensive data on the refugee situation.
What I hope to do through art is to expand the space for reflection on a human experience level. Alongside the data that we have available, I would like for my viewers to reflect on the existential dimension of being a refugee.
The purpose of art in our lives is to make available a space for us to to observe, feel, question and search. Through my work I hope to expand this space for empathy and solidarity to grow in this community that I have found myself in, and which I have called home for the past 10 years.
