HERE, THERE, NOWHERE exhibiting artists; Kareen Adam, Manal & Fazail
Here, There, Nowhere presents works by artists Fazail Lutfi, Kareen Adam, and Manal - the first time a group of Maldivian artists are exhibiting works in Melbourne.
This exhibition evolved out of conversations Kareen was having with her Maldivian peers about her series of coral drawings and paintings, which began during 2013 while she was living in Maldives. The conversations reflected on contextualising the idea of home and connection to place, especially as our physical and emotional distance oscillated and shifted from our place of birth. In one conversation with Topy Saeed (a creative director and artist also from the Maldives) we found a connection between Fazail, Kareen and Manal’s works.
Each of us grew up in Male’ the capital of Maldives, and have lived away or are living away from our city. We all still hold strong connections and roots to our place of birth. In our lifetime, the once idyllic island village has transformed into a hectic city, shaped by the advances and troubles of rapid development and socio-political changes.
Our works contemplate the current state of our city Male’ against our memories, the transformations it is going through, and how we are connected to that place now. However, each of us are processing these experiences from different perspectives: while Kareen’s work delves into nostalgia and the past, Manal’s work responds to the present condition of living in the dense city, and Fazail’s work explores the location of his body and self in relation to our place of origin.
While we each have creative practices in different artistic mediums, collectively we present a visual discourse on (dis)connection to place, impermanence, fluidity, nostalgia and a yearning for stability and security. Juxtaposed and placed within shared boundaries of a gallery space - far away from where we come from - the stories, ideas and representations point to a space that one can never return to. Together we are Here, There, and Nowhere simultaneously.