Look Beyond What You See

By Hamda AlHashemi (@Hamda_AlHashemi)

“To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle,” said George in his essay, ‘In Front of Your Nose’ in 1964. In the journey of life we undergo different situations where we tend to take the wrong course of action because we lack a clear vision of what the situation is really about. Not everything is always as it seems, and sometimes we need to step back and look at things from a different perspective.

One of the artists, whom I have examined their work, has a lot of work that revolves around this problem; how human beings can look beyond what is in front of them to reach a state of mind where they can find a new perspective on life in itself, and how they can improve themselves through that perspective.

Timo Nasseri, a sculptor, photographer, and an ink-drawing artist, was born to a German father and an Iranian mother. His mixed cultural background resulted in him using elements of Islamic architecture, the Muqarans, and displaying them in new and creative ways. He extracts the geometrical shapes and rebuilds them into a complicated, yet aesthetically interesting way.

Another part of his work revolves around using Arabic/ Iranian words and building them into a wall sculptor. He manipulates the material used in building the word to reflect the meaning of the word itself, literarily and emotionally.

His largest piece, called “Fadjr”, built in 2007, was one of the most impressive ones I have seen.  The piece is made out of polished stainless steel, and has the dimensions of 500 x 160 x 200 cm. The word “Fadjr” means dawn in Arabic, and it is also the first of the Muslim daily prayers. The material used gives a reflection similar to that of the sun at dawn. And since the piece is magnificent, one has to walk around it, step back, and stand at different levels to actually be able to read it.

The concept is that sometimes we might be so close to a certain situation, but our actions are misguided because we cannot understand the situation very well. Being too close does not always work for our benefit. We need to step back, take some time to think about what is in front of us, look at it from different angles, and then make our decision based on what we see.

During the time we take to study the condition, our entire mentality changes. Our opinion might be altered. And our feelings can take more time to settle down, and we will have the chance to react wiser to the situation.

Not everything we see is at it seems. There is always a different side to everything, and not giving each factor enough time to tell its story, we will make hasty judgments that we will regret. Just take off those glasses, and give them a good wipe. When you wear them again you will the see the whole world from new eyes.

May 2011’s issue:

Here We Start – Archive80 Report – Community Talk – Food for Thought
Just Another Undergrad – Living Through The Eyes of Art
Scenes From Life – To The Point – Words, Observations, and Ramblings