Ayan Farah’s soft, light and transparent self-recording

Ayan Farah was born 1978 in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Exposed until the 7th of March at Bugada&Gargnel in Paris, Farah’s two paintings of our gallery take their force from an alchemical combination of alcohol, vinegar and salt, mixed together whit the dye on a thin, light and mischievous canvas made of silk. As other artists are doing today – Sam Falls and Valerie Snobeck are certainly among them – Farah is working on the relation between the structure and the medium, sometimes using the stretcher as a mere support, and the canvas as a soft, light and transparent recording device. Moreover, the medium is exposed to the sun, wind and rain, in a way that of course recalls Sam Falls, but also Ryan Forster and, from a certain point of view, Lee Kit and Jessica Warboys. Just like them, the “experience” that generates the artwork is conceived to reflect directly the artist’s intimacy and individuality. In Farah’s case it’s difficult, if not probably wrong, to read her poetic approach without taking into account ethics and aesthetics of the culture to which she belongs. However, be careful, identity is not to be considered the subject of the work.

July 18, 2015