EXHIBITION The Judy Black Memorial Park & Garden Washington, CT FROM KABUL TO CONNECTICUT October 24- November 20, 2022

SUITCASE (American military base, Qatar, 2021) 22.5x30.5 inches Japanese ink and acrylic on paper SOLD

This painting was inspired by a poem by the same name written by Afghan poet Sharif Saidi, who wrote that when leaving your beloved motherland one cannot find room in a suitcase for the memories, sorrow and bitterness.

“Following my evacuation from Kabul in August of 2021, and while I waited for approval to enter the United States, I reflected on my journey with my family and this poem so beautifully described my emotions. While I was able to pack a small suitcase, I was forced to leave behind so many material items. More significantly, however, my small suitcase could not possibly encase the pain of separating from my family, the bitterness of leaving behind my home, neighbors and community, and the memories of my life.”

The brown calligraphy is intertwined words from Saidi’s poem. The English words are translated phrases from the same poem, and it is the first time that Awrang incorporated English letters in his work. At the time, he was surrounded by Americans and English in Qatar, and was inspired to include them in my work.

During his evacuation from Kabul, Afghanistan, Awrang was able to take only some of his hand-made paper and a few of his paintings. That is why this painting, which he made on the US military base, remains on thin sheets of my paper without any backing. The artist likes how the painting floats in its frame.

Sharif Saidi , the poet, lost his father at a young age and emigrated to Pakistan as a teenager. He later moved to Iran, where he studied Arabic Language and Literature. In 2001, Saidi left Iran and has since settled in Sweden. While there, he obtained degrees in International Relations and Oriental Studies in Persian Language and Literature. He continues to write poetry and lives with his family in Sweden.

BLOODSTAIND FLOG FOR JUSTICE (New Milford, CT 2022) 30x22.5 inches Japanese ink, gold leaf and acrylic on paper

SOLD

The word at the center of this painting translates into KABUL and is written in Nastaliq, one of the main calligraphic styles used to write the Perso-Arabic script in the Persian and Urdu languages. It is often used in Iran, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries for written poetry as a form of art.

“I chose to paint Kabul in Nastaliq in dark shades to depict the darkness of the horror of what was taking place there following the return of the Taliban. The Taliban wear that same color in their clothing and their face coverings. My Kabul had become dark.”

“I chose the orange color for the background to depict the dry blood of those who had been killed or forced to flee. I painted the word Kabul in English, using the Times New Roman font, because it is the most famous newspaper headline font and symbolizes that my message is making it around the world for all to see—Kabul is going dark and is in knots. I also used black, green and white because those are the colors of my flag.”

This painting was inspired by a poem by the same name by Afghan poet and diplomat Abdul Rahman Pazhwak (1919-1995). He wrote that the physical act of dreaming is natural and easy, but the effort and path to making the dream come true can be difficult and sometimes impossible, nonetheless humanity continues to revolve around the axis of dreams.  The Persian word at the center of this painting translates to DREAM.  It floats between two spaces, trying to find its way into reality.

During his career, Rahman worked for the Afghan foreign ministry and served as president of the UN General Assembly from 1966 to 1967; and, in the 1970s as Afghan ambassador to West Germany, India and later the United Kingdom.   In 1978, when he returned to Afghanistan following the Saur Revolution, he was put under house arrest. Upon his release he received asylum in the U.S. He died in Afghanistan in 1995.

In Abril of 2022, following a long trip from Kabul through Qatar, North Macedonia and Virginia; my family arrived in New Milford.  “We had no idea what to expect and I was overwhelmed with so much uncertainty. I did not know what would happen to us over the next hours, days or months. I was in a state of constant worry about my family’s future. “

This painting is about all the emotions that I kept quiet and hidden, all the while experiencing the frenzy and energy of our new home, our environment and all those who had come to help us settle into our new community.   While I was appreciative of all that was happening, I was also intensely experiencing all types of new energy that were spinning outside of myself, and I was working hard to make sense of it all.  

At that time, I did not yet have the language or relationship with my environment or new community to explain and express the frenetic and chaotic emotions that existed inside and outside of me. Many emotions remained hidden inside of me. The red mark outside of the “head” is my signature, or my spirit, in one whole piece. I tried to keep my focus on it while inside of me it fell apart, scattered and whirled around in my mind.”

This work was Inspired by a poem by Sohrab Sepehri: “I see, therefore I am.”

“I have memories of the past and so every new moment is connected to the past.  I have vague images of the future in my mind, yet I know it will be based on the experience of what I saw in past. Everything I see creates in me a thought.”

“This is Kabul as I want to remember it.  I chose gold leaf to paint the word Kabul, which is at the center of this painting. The shape of the word and what immediately surrounds it were painted in the shape of my homeland - Afghanistan. It is placed in a setting that looks like other lands and countries, and it is living in harmony with the rest of the world. This is the Kabul that I see in my dreams.”

Following the death of my mother I traveled through mountains and plains and find that my body remains empty. 

“I cry for the dreams that are impossible to reach. If my tears dry, I catch them in my dreams.  This piece was created from the emotions I felt during the Covid 19 pandemic. I felt the pain of the world, the life system was broken for a while, everyone was in quarantine, the relationships were cut off, people were afraid of each other, everyone was crawling in the corner and afraid of death.”