Mo documents: Time. Space. Culture.

Introduction

Three artists representing different corners of the world, now based in Toronto, came together to present the show "Time. Space. Culture." Their perspectives are different, yet they found common ground to show and express themselves together. Yoko Nomura, Alexey Dreva and Muhammad Irfan Aziz displayed drawings, photographs, paintings and sculpture.

Art is not created in a vacuum. People are affected by lives, environments and events. This show examined that connectivity. Yoko formed a lasting bond with her pet rabbit Gris. She captured it via her drawings. Alexey, a multi-media artist, sifted through his memory to extract traces of life once lived. Muhammad explored his identity in sculpture informed by his daily experiences.

With origins from Japan, Belarus and Pakistan, a rare trio of creativity had converged. Time. Space. Culture.

About this blog:

This blog documents my contribution to the show "Time. Space. Culture. ". I, Muhammad Irfan Aziz (Mo) had 8 works in the show. I have posted photos of each work with a description. The last entry of this blog has a few installation shots.

panatics@gmail.com

Trophy Knives

Trophy knives (4), 2011, Plaster on Canvas, 24 in x 12 in (each)

Trophy knives (single view), 2011, Plaster on Canvas, 24 in x 12 in (each)

Trophy knives (detail), 2011, Plaster on Canvas, 24 in x 12 in (each)

A modern implement is shown as an ancient artifact. I find it amusing that broken old stuff is show-worthy while broken new stuff is dumped. Knives are useful, sharp and dangerous. Like most household items, broken or defective knives are discarded without much thought. A good tool, however, is missed when it is gone. The presented work is an homage to defect and a celebration of rejection. Trophy knives are made of white plaster attached to blank canvases.

Home?

Home? (front view), 2011, Gloss paper and cardboard, 49 in x 23 in x 0.5 in

Home? (3/4 profile view), 2011, Gloss paper and cardboard, 49 in x 23 in x 0.5 in

Home? (detail), 2011, Gloss paper and cardboard, 49 in x 23 in x 0.5 in

In the last 11 years I have moved 8 times. The work is titled "Home?" as I don't know what address to consider home. I took the google map of the 8 places. I removed everything but the roads and the streets. I framed each map with the cardboard from the moving boxes. I am drawn to the cast shadows and the negative shapes of the work.

Hope

Hope, 2011, EPS foam in water in glass, 16 in x 10 in x 8.5 in

When fish die, they go belly-up in the water. The word hope is floating upside down in a fish tank. It is a pessimistic view of life. It also acknowledges the term 'hope floats'.

Squeeze

Squeeze (56), 2011, Plaster, 4 in x 2 in x 1 in (each)

There are 56 shapes arranged in a grid on the floor. Each object is the negative shape of my fist cast in plaster. The fingerprints are visible as are the palm lines. It is an autobiographical work showing a personal sculpting method. The smaller objects are the result of hard squeezes. The bigger objects are formed via relaxed pressure.

Patriotism for sale

Patriotism for Sale (2), 2011, Plaster with Acrylic, 3 in x 1.5 in x 1 in (each)

Patriotism for Sale (close-up), 2011, Plaster with Acrylic, 3 in x 1.5 in x 1 in

During the Vancouver Olympics the media was flooded with branded merchandise. the message was that if you are proud of Canada, if you support our athletes then you must buy these things. This work consists of two clay turds. Each has the Vancouver Olympic logo on it. It is a show of disgust towards commerce and media. It doesn't matter what the object being sold really is as long as it carries the precious logo. Here you have the option of either a coloured or a gray turd. It is "patriotism for sale".

Assimilate

Assimilate (front view), 2011, Acrylic on Pine, 36 in x 10 in x 1 in

Assimilate (3/4 profile view), 2011, Acrylic on Pine, 36 in x 10 in x 1 in

Assimilate (detail), 2011, Acrylic on Pine, 36 in x 10 in x 1 in

It is an official looking sign that has the Government of Canada's font and graphics. Instead of saying Canada, it says Assimilate with the flag on the last letter. Multiculturalism is a hollow word. Only superficial diversity is desired in Canada, as I see it. Things get tense when you start to differ in more than your appearance and accent. It is hard to have a differing moral, ethical, religious and world view without the ever-present sentiment, "why don't you go back to where you came from?". Acceptance is conditional and often temporary.

Lingering Grievances

Lingering Grievances, 2011, Cotton on Felt stuffing, 38 in x 15 in x 11 in

Lingering Grievances (detail), 2011, Cotton on Felt stuffing, 38 in x 15 in x 11 in

Lingering Grievances, 2011, Cotton on Felt stuffing, 38 in x 15 in x 11 in

My mother died in a hospital. She was struck by a car as she was using the pedestrian crossing. The hospital refused to release her remains before performing an autopsy. We, her family, requested the autopsy not be done as it clashes with our beliefs. The hospital denied the request and we were told that things had to be done by the book. When we went to bury her, the cemetery insisted on placing the body in a wooden box for burial. In our religion, we lower the body in the grave, put three slabs of concrete or stones on top, so animals can't dig through, and fill the rest with dirt. There is no wooden box. Wood will disintegrate underground so it is not for sanitational purposes. The cemetery insisted, however, on doing things by the book also.

In this work I have prepared a half-scale body for burial using religious text. I have followed step by step instructions on shrouding the body in five pieces of cotton. The process was a cathartic experience as I regained some control taken away from me and my family. The shrouded body has a cloth labelled "Property of Canada". It is my experience that when you die, you become the country's property. Canada can do what it chooses to your remains, requests from the next of kin be damned.

Sadness

Sadness (front view), 2011, Plaster Bandage on Newspaper, 21 in x 18 in x 7 in

Sadness (3/4 profile view), 2011, Plaster Bandage on Newspaper, 21 in x 18 in x 7 in

Sadness (detail), 2011, Plaster Bandage on Newspaper, 21 in x 18 in x 7 in

It is a sculpted symbol of the heart. The work is divided into three parts with the middle lowered. It represents heaviness of heart and sadness. After my mother's death all the grief councillors I went to asked me to describe my emotions. I couldn't put to words the vague, undefined feeling of weightiness. I still can't articulate it but I can sculpt it. I intentionally kept the form raw and ragged. The plaster bandage is a nod towards preservation and efforts to mend.