Immigration is what carves the present face of the world. It
is not a new concept as immigration has been prevalent since the historic times
when people travelled from one country to another for the purpose of trading
goods and labor. Today, people emigrate from their native countries to foreign
nations for several reasons such as better employment offers, education, better
quality of life and future prospects being the leading influential forces.
However, immigration is not always an easy adjustment for people
as they face several economic and socio-cultural challenges and obstacles on
arrival. They are expected to embrace the culture and new society in order to
live harmoniously and in doing so they have to make alterations to their
traditional lifestyle, cultural values, norms, and practices, learn the foreign
language, while trying to create a steady financial position in order to
sustain their living.
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| Iraqi artist, Kareem Risan |
While some people face an easy transition into the foreign
land there are some who have to endure intense hardships, like the Iraqi artist
Kareem Risan, whose migration from his homeland to Canada was not a facile
feat. He decided to paint his emotions to find peace in himself and in doing
so; he splendidly chronicled his migration struggles in an array of paintings unveiled
during his December exhibition titled, ‘Steps in Migration’.
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| Karim Risan's exhibition titled, "Steps in Migration" |
In one of Risan’s stirring painting captioned, ‘Entry To
Paradise’ you can see a factual pictorial representation of the first step of
migration and one can sense the apprehension and ambiguity that a person must
feel on arrival to a foreign land, away from their homeland. The painting shows
characters lined up, with their arms outstretched and clutching papers in their
fists, waiting for an ethereal dressed in white to allow them entry. The
presence of the sublime white figure and the caption of the painting could at
first glance give the impression that the artist is alluding to a divine
dimension but on exploring deeper in to the exhibition it becomes clear that
the artist has tried to express his experience of migration.
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On asking Risan to explain his thoughts while creating the
artwork he said, “Some people really believe that they will be entering
paradise by emigrating to a certain country. But for myself, I did not choose
it. I was forced and it was certainly not paradise for me.” He first migrated with
his family to Syria, leaving behind their treasured homeland, Iraq, in 2006
amidst the catastrophic scene of war that had his country completely swathed in
its dreadful clutches and then ultimately in 2008, they migrated to Canada
where they decided to settle for long.
Speaking about his experience of living in Canada and his
reactions towards the western society he remarked being shocked at first by the
climate and then the culture, he said he was consumed with a myriad of
questions that yearned to being explored, and it was his passion for art that
filled the void that had developed within him after migrating from his
homeland. He said, “The answers have not yet been decided but my questions have
profoundly affected my artistic practice”.
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‘Steps in Migration’ was showcased in Dubai’s MeemGallery and despite having worked with them for many years, it is Risan’s first
solo debut with the gallery and he admits that all the paintings that have been
displayed in the exhibition are the fruit of his dedicated labor of more than a
year and he has poured in them, his deepest emotions and struggles. So the show
holds a profound personal attachment to him.
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| Painting exhibited during Risan's 'Steps in Migration' show |
He expresses, “All the show is my story. When I left my
country and went to Canada, I struggled with many things like language,
community, society and my health. I had many problems and my only form of
expression was in painting.”
The figures that were drawn in the ‘Entry to Paradise’
painting recur throughout the other paintings of the exhibition; the figures of
men and women with vacant faces and wry limbs are mere manifestations of random
people undergoing the same experiences as him. But what captivates one’s eye is
the manifestation of Risan himself that he has painted in the centre of each
image either in the form of a wooden mannequin or as a figure bearing glasses
and a green hat.
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| Painting exhibited during Risan's 'Steps in Migration' show |
Every painting created by Risan speaks of his struggle of
acclimatizing in the new world, like in the painting captioned, ‘Man is
Not Made to Live Below Zero’, he has painted the mannequin of himself losing
his limbs and his green hat floating in the top right corner. When asked what
he was trying to portray he simply said, “The snow and the freezing ice broke
me. And the many question marks in the painting show my confusion.”
Apart from the recurring theme of his struggle to
acclimatize, his paintings also convey an prevailing theme of miscommunication
as one can interpret in many of his artworks. Like the random presence of
microphones, loose wires, and light bulbs that seem to be unlit. This could be
the barrier of communication that Risan and many other immigrants like him have
to face when they are plunged into a culture completely diverse from their own,
having to become proficient in the foreign language or then having to face the
discomfort of being misunderstood or ignored.
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| Risan's painting depicting microphones, loose wires, and light bulbs |
At least that is what happened with Risan when he first arrived
in Canada, his words went unheard, and his talent remained undetected, a theme
he has perfectly typified in another painting captioned, ‘No One Hears Me’. He
has drawn his character sitting in the centre of the frame while talking into a
microphone, only that the microphone is unplugged and the speech bubble next to
his mouth remains empty. It is a very symbolic representation as his character is
also drawn bearing two ears on one side of his head, to denote him being a
careful listener, however his voice is muted.
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| Risan's painting captioned, 'No One Hears Me' |
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| Risan's black-and-white illustrations titled, 'Memories of Cold Nights' |
“The years I spent in Canada have changed my heart a little,
they have pushed me to expressing myself more through my art,” says Risan. The
raw sentiment that lays hidden behind his paintings is what makes ‘Steps
in Migration’ a riveting experience for not solely the people who have endured
similar struggles caused by forced immigration from one’s homeland, but also
for anyone with a keen eye for symbolic art.
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