Hana Shahnavaz: "I created this film to be shown alongside my paintings in START art fair at Saatchi gallery, 2018. The film is created using footage I took on my phone , whilst travelling Hormuz Island in Iran to forage for different coloured earth to make paint from. I first travelled to Hormuz in October 2016 and again in February 2018 - both trips to discover earth for paint, and both footages included in the film. It was very important for me to physically be in Iran and stand in the earth and really feel the energy in its pure form. Just breathing in the air, observing the natural colours that occur in Iran's earth, Iran's terrain, the textures, the feel of the air, is all just as important. It really affects me. I am a very visual person and all my work is inspired by things I've visually seen and felt. Iran is a fantastic palette of colour and texture to inspire! Materials for me are everything. I can't separate the materials from the end painting. It's half and half and I will always call my art a collaboration between myself and the earth. Therefore, my exhibitions are always half about the earth and process/journey and half the actual paintings. There are many reasons why materials are important, the first being quality. The more I come to understand materials and go back to the root of them, the more I can make true quality art. Ready-made synthetic paints will never be the same as hand-ground paint made from rich, colourful earth, semi-precious stones sparkling in the sun, 24ct gold shining likes it's on fire and translucent plant pigments where the light just bounces through the delicate layers.
In addition to this, collecting my own natural materials connects me to the earth and reminds me I am part of the Whole whilst showing me how abundant and loving the natural world is. The beauty never seizes to amaze me and it feels like a blessing to be able to witness it and work with it. The more I work witht the earth the more I have a profound connection to it and a deeper gratitude. This then makes me want to protect Earth and really thank her for what she has generously given and to not be greedy with it. If anything can have that effect on us, to actually want to protect the earth we walk on, the earth that we come from, then I think that's a wonderful thing! I feel that as we are made from earth and come from nature itself, we can connect very deeply and quickly with something that is also made from nature as opposed to something that has no root or connection to us. I therefore think using earth materials facilitates the connection to the paintings.
Edit by Matin Studio
0 Comments