“it’s not just one thing, it’s a lot of things.”
TAHSINE AL HASSANE IS AN ARTIST X MOTHER WHO LiVES X WORKS IN TORONTO.
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tahsine al hassane (b.198x) is an artist working in mixed-media with cultural and racial roots in east africa, india, EAST ASIA, west asia and north america.
her work is iterative.
it shifts slightly over time. like the chiseling of a sculpture, it is how she lives her life. she picks up, she lays down. she pushes, she pulls — herself (and those that take in her work) towards critical thought. considerations are given to time, space, pace, society, culture, identity, equity, empathy, energy. PURPOSE, priorities, potential.
our collective states of (WELL) being, considering.
her work MOVES INCREMENTALLY.
IT has been taking shape in the form of large scale collage incorporating found (contemporary x archived) lens-based imagery, photography, typography, abstraction, repetition, wordplay and prose, PRIMARILY using paper. moRE recently she has stretched her practice into textileS X HANDWORK (embroidery, MIRRORWORK, APPLIQUE).
her formal training in design and communications lends to her aesthetic; she uses these means and the language of beauty to attract viewers to take note and stay a while.
her work REPEATS X PROGRESSES.
it is a form of selF-described self portraiture — she intends for the viewer to see themselves as well as our shared humanity, experiences and purpose in WHAT she creates.
while the work is visually pleasing at the outset, there are undertones of grief and suffering, and overtones of healing and evolution within the layers and throughout the creation process. everything is rooted in reality with an open view of potentialities.
liberation (mind and body) is at the forefront. recognition and acknowledgement of the systems in place that lead to oppressive, unfair and biased treatments toward certain populations historically and at present, the resultant effects, relationships and traumas (that traverse generations) of such treatments, what might be the way forward toward healing, full expression and actualization at individual and subsequently collective levels by way of truth, justice and deep care.
HER WORK IS CYCLICAL X EVOLVING.
women AND THE FEMININE play a central role in her work as we have an innate intuitive ability and awareness of these broader states. we also have the power to permeate what we know in our selves, our lineage, our communities and therefore shift broader culture.
being of islamic faith and being of no singular place influences her in that she opts for a humanistic, meta approach to expression. she leans toward universal and timeless language in order to reach the seer wherever they may be on their journey to understanding our shared humanity, experiences and purpose.
HER WORK IS A CONTINUUM OF PRACTICE.
LATELY, SHE HAS EXTENDED THE VISUAL AND PRIVATE INTEGRATIVE PRACTICE TO A PUBLIC EXPRESSION OF EXPERIENCING CARE X COMMUNITY. SHE HAS OPENED THE DOORS TO HER STUDIO X HOME, NAMED HAUSA, FOR GATHERINGS TO EXPRESS THE BREADTH X DEPTH OF HUMAN EMOTION THROUGH FILM SCREENINGS, DISCUSSION, SUPPERS, WORKSHOPS X MORE.
HER WORK IS in PRIVATE AND CORPORATE collections worldwide including —
TIKTOK CANADA
THE ACE HOTEL — TORONTO
THE GLADSTONE HOTEL
UNIVERSAL MUSIC CANADA
CIBC SQUARE
ODE
she is a mother of two bright stars and lives/works in toronto.
IF YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW —
i'm emerging
(Always will BE —
if the universe continually expands
and the universe is contained
within my (and your) Chest
then this is an ergo situation)
SEE — the scattering winds 47