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Action Alert: UK – Reminder 1 week left until Visionary Awakening

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Act Now

Action Alert: UK – Reminder 1 week left until Visionary Awakening

11 September 2013

Visionary Awakening Exhibition – 19 September 2013 to 18 February 2014

You can find further information on our website at: https://ihrc.org.uk/events/10580-visionary-awakening-

If you would like to attend the exhibition, please drop by Monday to Friday 9am-5pm or Saturday 10am-6pm.

School visits and speaking to the artist can be arranged please contact us beforehand at events@ihrc.org or 02089044222

IHRC is delighted to host visionary photographer and artist Nasreen Shaikh Jamal al-Lail’s work at its gallery in Wembley, northwest London.

Jamal al-Lail’s work has been exhibited in England and Saudi Arabia. Her main areas of interest lie in the connection between space and self-identity; for example, being a Muslim in Britain and also, being raised partly in Saudi Arabia has deeply shaped the way she perceives cultures and the dynamism inherent in their movements. Jamal Al-Lail’s focus has been on developing an understanding of how an interaction between different ‘collective memories’ has created a unique set of problems about who one is and what one can become. She attempts to weave alterity into a form which can be understood by those who find themselves amidst the confluence of ever changing, constantly evolving global artistic forms.

Jamal al-Lail is a First class graduate in Photography (BA) from the University of Westminster. Her work is being exhibited at MAPS over the summer.

Jamal al-Lail’s work focuses on the connection between space and self-identity. On her work Rooftop, for example, Jamal al-Lail states:

“Identity and space are intimately connected; space delineates the scope for identity. This is particularly the case in the context of Saudi Arabia – space necessitates the very ground for a coherent identity. I use the rooftop – open space – as a metaphor for progressive, liberated and open-ended possibility. By placing a young girl – symbolizing innocence – in an open space I am trying to describe how identity flourishes best when there are no barriers, no ceilings.”

Being a Muslim in Britain of mixed Indian and Arab heritage, and also, being raised partly in Saudi Arabia has deeply shaped the way she perceives cultures and the dynamism inherent in their movements.

On her video installation ‘The Calling’[1], she states:

“[It] attempts to enrich the visual space by its dual nature, stillness and the echo of distance. The ‘echo’ identifies with all that lies within the field of vision, thereby leaving the musicality to fade into the scene. This overwhelming sense of silence and stillness reach beyond what is distant and leaves us asking a pertinent question; who is calling?”

Jamal al-Lail will be exhibiting these and other work, including new material created specifically for the IHRC show. She will be talking briefly about her work and inspiration at the exhibition launch and will be available for interviews on the night and beforehand.

If you would like to attend the exhibition launch please contact events@ihrc.org. Spaces are limited so please book early.