Nafas or Isolation Diaries by Arshi Irshad Ahmadzai has reopened at Delhi's Blueprint12 gallery. The show brings forth the artist's experiences of the lockdown.
Ahmadzai was stranded in Najibabad (Uttar Pradesh) in the lockdown and was uncertain about what the future held, and whether she would be able to visit Kabul to be with her husband. To make sense of this difficult phase, she wrote letters to him, a one-sided communication about her anxieties, daily routine, loss of loved ones and their marriage.
"These letters highlight the concerns of a woman, who is unable to come to terms with her life in flux - one with its roots in a country where religious isolation, propaganda and intolerance have become a norm, and the uncertainty of life and political instability in the other," says Ahmadzai.
She says that these letters are a reminisce of my childhood in Najibabad, where I studied at a madarsa (an Islamic community school) which focused a lot of the process of writing and learning Quranic verses by using a qalam (calligraphy pen), siyaasi (ink) and a takhti (writing board), of which the takhti is a constant and repetitive form in my works.
"I use a paste of crushed flowers from my mother’s garden as the surface for the paintings, laying a foundation that is rooted in nostalgia," says the artist who lives between Delhi and Kabul.
Arshi has been represented by Blueprint12 since two years, and after it represented her successfully at the India Art Fair 2020, a solo show was in the pipeline end 2021, but then the pandemic happened. "During this lockdown, she started Nafas, a series of letters in isolation. We instantly connected to her thought process and decided to have this as her first solo. These letters, which include references from poetry and writings of Rabia Basri, Jalauddin Rumi Balkhi, Bedil Shanaz, Jaun Elia, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Ghalib, T.S. Elliot and many more, bring out an emotional and deep connection with the viewer in one way or the other," informs Mandira Lamba, Director, Blueprint12.
Talking about the factors that led her to re-open the show instead of putting a new one, Lamba informs that it is all because of the enthusiasm of the public. "We opened the show in April 2021, wherein we had many visitors who were eagerly awaiting this show. However, two weeks later the lockdown happened, so we had to close the gallery. But many had not got the chance to physically view the show, so we decided to reopen it for two weeks now. Visitors have started trickling in, thankfully one or two at a time! We are very glad to have another window of opportunity for Arshi fans to view the show before we close."