Governor General’s Award-winning artist Jamelie Hassan joined a humbled group of nearly 50 to celebrate and discuss her latest exhibition, At the Far Edge of Words.
The exhibition is a collection of her work that spans more than three decades.
The title was taken from Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish’s “I Am From There,” which is as integral as the works of art themselves. Displayed on a canvas in the gallery, the poem explores the nature and meaning of home, ideas which have been central to many of Hassan’s pieces.
Many of Hassan’s pieces of the past decade focus on the interplay and complications of being born in Canada, yet having incredibly strong ties to her parents’ origins in the Middle East. Hypnotic neon tubing, arranged to form Arabic characters and letters, glows across a backdrop of centuries-old Arabic texts in a number of her pieces. The punchy expertise with which Hassan meshes her present with the past is quietly strong and resounding.
To celebrate the opening of the exhibition at Carleton, Hassan and fellow Aboriginal-Canadian artist Jeff Thomas engaged in an open dialogue on Jan. 15. Each has curated the other’s works, and they share not only a professional relationship, but also a familiar, close friendship.
Jovial and bright, Hassan recalled how, although not of aboriginal descent, she shared many of the same experiences and sentiments as Thomas.
“My dad was into this idea that we were a big tribe,” Hassan said with a smile when remembering her early family life.
The similar but intrinsically different natures of the two seemed a perfect backdrop to the works of art surrounding the two.
Hassan’s warmth and energy contrasted with Thomas’ pensive, weighted speaking. Thomas, speaking of the ritual of conversation amongst his elders, related his own fascination with it, and desire to be a part of their tales.
“They told me, ‘you’re not going to tell our story, you’re going to tell your story,’” Thomas said.
A prominent advocate for aboriginal rights, Thomas has used his career as a photographer to generate awareness for their cause.
An interesting clash was the view of children, featured vocally in both artists’ work. Of young ones, Hassan explained her fondness for them, even laughing that she comes across as “a baby-snatcher” due to her friendliness towards them.
“They give off this beauty,” she said with a smile.
Thomas, on the other hand, has been shaped by his bitter experiences in documenting the lives of children in residential schools.
The evening was reaching a close when a young woman related her own experiences of being from a community with a strong Lebanese culture. Hassan was surprised to learn this, as the location, Lac La Biche in Alberta, was one she had wanted to visit for many years.
This drew Hassan into a story about two young Cree women who married Lebanese men, and returned with them to Lebanon, bringing with them cultural ties and traditions to the Middle East. Hassan recalled meeting them with a smile.
“They said, ‘you think you’re the Canadian, but we are the real Canadians,” she said with a laugh.
A smile broke over Thomas’ stony disposition as he heard the story.
“I was going to ask you to tell that story, but this way was better,” he said.
The nature of shared histories, and the confusion, but also comfort, that can be caused by them, echoed through the art gallery. Thomas’ reminiscence of the importance of conversation held true.
“That’s what I love about this,” said Thomas of the evening’s dialogue. “It becomes a part of [a shared history].”
