There and Then
Shaheer Zazai
A Space Windows
November 24, 2020 – October 9, 2021
The works in ‘There and Then’ come from two different time periods in Zazai’s digital practice. ‘The Carpet Series’ from 2017 is largely informed by his birthplace of Afghanistan, specifically feelings of nostalgia and displacement. His digital practice then steered towards experimentation and exploration of asymmetry, breaking away from the confines of structure and allowing errors to become part of the work. ‘There and Then’ gives the viewer a chance to peer into two different time periods at the same time.
Biographies
Shaheer Zazai is a Toronto based Afghan-Canadian artist with a current studio practice both in painting and digital media. Zazai received a BFA from OCAD University in 2011 and was artist in residence at OCAD University as part of the Digital Painting Atelier in 2015. Zazais practice focuses on exploring and attempting to investigate the development of cultural identity in the present geopolitical climate and diaspora. The digital works revolve around Microsoft Word and imagery drawn from traditional Afghan carpets. Through mimicking carpet-making methods, Zazai creates his own designs in Microsoft Word, where every knot of a carpet is translated into a typed character. While the digital is a process based exploration, the paintings have been an internal investigation into vulnerability and fear. Zazai is a recipient of Ontario Arts Council grants and he was a finalist for EQ Banks Emerging Digital Artist Award in 2018. Since graduating, Zazai has had several solo and group exhibitions such as those at the Capacity 3 Gallery, CAFKA Biennial 2019, Art Gallery of Mississauga, Glenhyrst Art Gallery of Brant., Double Happiness Projects and Patel Brown Gallery. His digital works have been covered by CBC Arts in 2018, Ajam Media Collective in 2019 and Globe and Mail in 2020.