By Upasana Bhattacharjee
Conflict and art have shared an interesting relationship throughout history.
Dia Azzawis recent exhibition in Qatar, titled I am the cry, who will give voice to me? has propelled discussions on how art often narrates horrific times in the history of a nation and sometimes even flourishes under those circumstances.
Such times compel art and literature to take new trajectories in terms of both mediums and genres. This provides a profound insight into the conditions of the time.
A medium of expression: Graphic novels
One of the most unexpected yet formidable mediums of expression is that of graphic novels. Broadly, the trend began with Art Spiegelmans Maus which describes the Holocaust with the Nazis as cats and the Jews as mice. Joe Saccos widely acclaimed Palestine captures the turbulent times in West bank and Gaza Strip during the 90s impeccably. Marjane Satrapis two-volume Persepolis is a memoir of her girlhood in Iran during and after the Islamic Revolution and teenage life in Vienna. The dark and striking black and white images contribute to making her style unique and her memoir an intense experience.
Partition literature: The Indian experience
[su_pullquote align=”right”]Lands in political turmoil like Kashmir produce incredibly reflective work that deals with all these themes at once, as can be seen in Agha Shahid Alis collection The Country Without a Post Office. [/su_pullquote]
Similarly, partition literature in India has served with themes of grief, loss, displacement and violence through the horrific circumstances of the time. Lands in political turmoil like Kashmir produce incredibly reflective work that deals with all these themes at once, as can be seen in Agha Shahid Alis collection The Country Without a Post Office.
While such literature mostly deals with the consequences of events rather than the causes, sometimes the consequences themselves become events. This leads to the development of new kinds of literature such as fasadat ke afsane or riot literature.
The question of misplaced identity
The question of identity becomes an important aspect in art and literature. Given how dependent a population is on their social circumstances for a sense of identity, conflicts tend to have a distorting effect leaving the populace in a state of confusion and with a sense of grief. This gives birth to art and literature that deals with transnationalism, migration and diaspora. These themes are often expressed so beautifully that one questions, as in the case of Azzawi, whether the ruinous world is a vindication of Azzawis work or his work is its salvation.
Dia Azzawis recent exhibition in Qatar has propelled discussions on how art often narrates horrific times in the history of a nation | Photo Courtesy: Arabian KnightTurbulent times have often led to some of the most brilliant art through history. Art and literature supplement the historic narration of events through their insights into humanity and emotions. They give the territory a cultural identity that goes beyond its political chaos, introducing to the world the people and their lives disturbed by such events. The Great Depression and the Industrial Revolution were made more real by Steinbeck and Dickens. In a similar manner, Azzawis work has captured the story of the Arab world thereby representing the mayhem. These conflicts become cries that artists give a voice to.