Written by: Nimra Khan
Posted on: November 22, 2021 | 
| 中文
Untitled-1, 2021 (Unique)
Waseem Ahmed and Maria Waseem’s collaborative works use distinct styles and mediums to discuss bifurcations and ruptures—of nations, peoples, histories, and cultures. “Till Death Do Us Part”, which is a recent show that started on the 16th of November at the Sanat Initiative and will continue till the 25th of November, presents an interesting perspective on the phrase since the husband-wife duo have created a joint narrative on the violent and bloody partition of the subcontinent, the impact of which is still felt by the land, its cultural and religious fabric. The two artists weave a conversation that maintains their distinct voices at equal decibels and they present it with the visual coherence of a singular complete image. One can scarcely perceive where one conversation ends and the other begins.
Untitled-16, 2021 (Unique)
The photographs have been taken by Maria Waseem, who has been trained as an architect and has a special interest in heritage buildings, specifically those dotting the country’s Eastern border and stand as a testament to shared history. While Waseem inherited her photographic eye from her mother, her interest in photographing historical sites came from working as an architectural researcher on a book on Bhai Ram Singh at the research and publication department of the National College of Arts (NCA), during which she got the chance to document the old buildings designed by the famed pre-partition architect. From there she started documenting the lesser-known heritage sites, small mosques, mandirs and gurdwaras, and even pre-partition homes and havelis.
Untitled-10, 2021 (Unique)
Waseem uses a medium that is rooted in the present and sheds new light on the past and gleans new meaning from the marks of history and etching of the passage of time that adorn these crumbling facades. A dialogue with the present is inadvertently extended as anonymous visitors leave their own marks, creating a strange kind of an allegory for the evolution of culture over time. Yet, here these structures speak of another kind of displacement as well, telling tales of division, abandonment, violence, and refuge. The artist relates her experience of visiting Delhi for her thesis in 2001 as a surreal one. “While living in our country we always think of people on the other side of the border to be different but her first impression of Delhi was as if she had never left home—the architecture, infrastructure, trees, plants, food and people, socially and culturally - everything was as if Maria was looking in a mirror, at a reflection,” says the artist’s statement. It is as if a culture interrupted, a land forcibly divided. Nothing much of consequence changes as when crosses over the manmade demarcations for which so many have spilt blood and ruined generations over the decades.
Untitled-3, 2021 (Unique)
This narrative that Waseem initiates is further elaborated upon by Waseem Ahmed, who has been her travel companion on these photography trips. The collaboration was born from countless experiences, conversations, and discussions on these historic spaces, as well as the stories they convey about the past and its significance in modern times. Ahmed’s own work deals with similar themes of borders, displacement, and conflict, through an articulation of our historical context in Western and Eastern mythology. These similar yet distinctive vocabularies come together to reflect on the shared violence of our past and the ways in which our collective cultural psyche has evolved due to these abruptly enforced divisions.
Untitled-17, 2021 (Unique)
In each work there exists a tangible iteration of a historical fact or an expression of cultural aesthetic. For instance, usage of an ancient Mughal miniature technique, a remnant of our cultural heritage which has been translated into a contemporary idiom, creates a commentary across time and space. The subtlety with which this is executed attests to the success of this collaboration. The interventions are minimalistic, and the color palette as well as technique make the additions seamlessly gel in with the printed image, thereby making the two indistinguishable. What we get is a quiet affirmation of the narrative to strengthen the message, rather than a loud declaration to make its presence known merely for the sake of attention.
Untitled-18, 2021 (Unique)
This translates into murals and frescos on the temple walls, which are painted over with red blotches, that are cracks in walls filled in with blood red paint, flowers, canons, bricks, and foliage. Cracks have been subtly added onto walls, and a red demarcation line has been drawn which serves to divide the seemingly cohesive image. It leads one to ponder on the concept of a manmade border, which is an attempt to manipulate nature to suit a political agenda. Yet nature does not adhere to such arbitrary divisions and does not succumb to petty and futile feuds. What is man, who inflicts violence on himself through these follies, if not an extension of nature?
Untitled-13, 2021 (Unique)
Through these images of temples and gurdwaras, which are structures often overlooked in marginalized communities, we are presented with violent and divisive imagery. We are also confronted by another, more subtle, divide which exists within our own communities. We are reminded of the thousands of voices which are routinely silenced in our own nation. Documentation of these forgotten sites by artists gives these voices a chance to be heard, and perhaps a chance at unity. Perhaps this will allow us to learn from our history and break the cycle of violence, so it may never repeat itself.
Untitled-8, 2021 (Unique)
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