Shamsia Hassani :
Beauty and the Burqa
By Rajul Punjabi
Shamsia Hassani , a prolific graffiti artist and associate professor of Fine Arts at Kabul University in Afghanistan , asserts that her art is not political . At least , not on purpose .
But everything from her medium and her canvas to her recurring motifs — freedom of expression and the burqa — evoke a quest for liberation . And they do not whisper or ask . They demand . Hassani is unassuming but fierce in her own right ; a revolutionary with a can of spray paint and the cracked walls in an ancient city as her canvas .
“ People think that women in burqas are [ powerless ] and uneducated , without ideas of their own ,” says Hassani . “ They think it is a limitation . I want to [ create ] new meaning for the burqa . The regular shape is sad , tired and boring . I have changed the shape [ in my art ]. There are sharp shoulders with movement and size .”
The artist ’ s message is provocative — she paints images of women in burqas in large public spaces when the burqa is known for preserving a woman ’ s privacy . There is an undeniable sense of boldness and exposure in the work . Her large scale paintings , rife with vibrant color and textures , reinforce the idea that a woman can maintain her privacy without being invisible . While her body is covered , it can still exist in a powerful way .
Hassani began doing graffiti in 2010 when a visiting British graffiti artist , Chu , held a small workshop in Kabul . There were three women in the group and the practice stuck for her . “ I want to change people ’ s minds with my art ,” she says .
“ When I put my art in the street , a lot of people will see it . Maybe only two will get something from it . And those two people can change something .”
While graffiti is not illegal in Afghanistan , Hassani says some of her favorite work has gone unfinished because she ’ s had to abandon a street for her own safety . Sometimes it ’ s political warfare that makes the streets unsafe . Other times , it ’ s for simply being a woman creating art in a public space that puts her in danger . On several occasions people have verbally abused her and attempted to stop her from working .
But when she has a vision , she executes it . Recently , her family discouraged her from tagging a certain location because a bomb had gone off nearby . It wasn ’ t safe for her to linger there , so she took a picture of the wall , printed a large image of it and used the image as her canvas . Working with acrylics and a paintbrush , she created what would later become the collection , “ Dreaming Graffiti .” Work from this collection and ones like it are more accessible and transportable since they do not adorn city walls . These images have brought her day-to-day existence in Kabul to exhibitions in the United Kingdom , Germany , Australia , India , Switzerland , and Vietnam , among others .
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