“…what is essential is invisible to the eye.” St. Exupery
Selma Feriani gallery announces ‘Click’, a SOLO EXHIBITION OF NEW ARTWORK FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHER ARTIST RAJA AISSA. This series of multilayered canvases develops upon Raja Aissa's signatory aesthetic of the shrouded image. The interplay of semi transparent layers within her work evokes Sufi philosophy whilst examining the links between the sacred, the virtual and the quest for self-identity.
All of the canvases within the series ‘Click’ subtlety incorporate a cursor symbol as seen on a computer screen. This glyph represents contemporary life, driven by images, colonized by technology, with the whole world a simple click away. The virtual domain as well as the spiritual realm anchors us in the present, offers a sense of belonging and enables the imagining of the future, and thus constructs an identity.
In traditional societies the “I” is constructed in the chain of family, tribe and or spiritual teachings. The sacred tree, which has long symbolized roots, permanence, hierarchy and religious verticality, links the earth to the sky and humans to god. The virtual world with its horizontal culture of movement, profusion of images and immediacy allows identity to be constructed through the mode of the “eye”.
Making poignant references to Adam and Eve, Raja Aissa presents iconography found in the history of humanity’s pursuit for original identity and understanding of who we are. Raja Aissa’s beautifully enveloped canvases permit only a partial sense of the figures and objects beneath. This contrasts sharply with the clarity and immediacy of the virtual world. Her technique combines images and a multilayered structure that plays with the connection between the seen and unseen, the instantaneous versus duration and its relationship to an increasingly faceless human identity. Can the seductive and imagery-oriented way of life, that is based on “I” or “eye” identification faced with disintegration, include the space for silence, that which lies between, and the essential invisible?
Raja Aissa’s artwork offers the viewer a multifaceted artistic experience, theoretically abundant and aesthetically engaging, humorous and seductive.
Selma Feriani Gallery exhibiting ‘Click’ from 14 May – 30 June. 2009.
RAJA AISSA: CLICK
PHOTOS EXHIBITION
14 May – 30 June 2009
Opening Mon-Fri 10.30 – 6.30
Sat 11.30 – 5.30
SELMA FERIANI GALLERY
23 Maddox Street
LONDON, W1S 2QN
