Five Testimonies of Touch
2024
Five Testimonies of Touch comprises of five clay sculptures and a series of photographs, photographed by Rosa - Vincenza Lanzalaco.
In an interview titled How Clay Is Connected to Our Bodies, Phoebe Collings-James elaborates on how clay, as a material, is "reciprocal." She explains, "Reciprocity also appears through sculpting and shaping: the clay then decides how it feels about its new form, potentially shifting, cracking, or remembering the other configurations that it had before."The notion of clay as a conduit for reciprocity inspired in me a desire for clay to become a vessel that holds the cherished memories of being held and touched. Considering reciprocity in sculptural forms and memory, I began to reflect on how the earth is shaped by waves over time, each indentation and erosion marking the water’s former presence. I want my memories of touch to leave a similar impression on the clay.
This led me to create five sculptures, each one embodying the touch of my close friends: Nowshin, Suhana, Aaliyah, Jannatul Ferdaws, and myself. Each sculpture is a receptacle of their hand, with contours that embrace the memory of each friend's touch, embodying reciprocity in the way the sculpture "holds" them as they hold it. The edges of each piece are crafted to nearly fit together, like pieces of a puzzle, illustrating how my friends and I naturally shape and negotiate space when we lay around together.
Questioning the significance of my approach to clay, I found insight through Sara Ahmed's The Cultural Politics of Emotion. A key takeaway is the power of emotions, especially pain, as testimonies that bear witness to the experiences of marginalized groups. This reflection led me to consider the importance of other emotions, such as care and joy. Do these emotions also deserve testimony?
The quiet, everyday gestures of care that come from being held and touched are fleeting, yet their remembrance remain with us. Through the reciprocal, malleable language of clay, and by using my own body, I wish to preserve and imprint these transient touches, acting as a testament to their memory. The clay becomes a longing to extend these meaningful but brief gestures.
Five Testimonies of Touch on hardwood table, exhibited at Heavy Traces. Light Trails. FILET Space, 2024
Five Testimonies of Touch installed in Heavy Traces. Light Trails. FILET Space 2024
Exhibition Text
Heavy traces. Light trails.
Twists and turns, bends unfold
tender muscles interlocking rigid stones Resistance and porosity
a direction towards divinity.
Heavy traces. Light trails. is a duo exhibition by British-Bangladeshi artists Jannat Hussain and Puer Deorum, exploring the material boundaries of weight and density, curves and ridges. The paradoxical attributions of the title balances the overarching themes through parallel/non-conjunctive lenses, forming a multi-media exhibition consisting of photographs, drawing, sculpture, and moving image.
The medley of works consider the tension and spill-time within borders and authoritarian regimes; expanding notions of space and their inherent relation to temporalities. Ultimately, piecing together fleeting and concurrent interpersonal exchanges, imaginary cartographies, and memories of movement(s). Tactile sensations through corporeal interaction with physical matter attest to instinctive shifts and conscious stirrings. The marks left behind and the whispers of affect they resound, forge sculptural relics and visual testimonies of impressions buried beneath our horizontal bodies.
Peace in Al - Aqsa, 2023 Photograph
Jannat Hussain
In May 2023, I had the privilege of spending the last ten days of Ramadan in Palestine, specifically Jerusalem, with an educational organisation. This trip required us to endure intimidation, with our passports withheld by Tel Aviv airport staff, and a 10-hour hold at border control before we could enter Palestine. This experience, while challenging, pales in comparison to what Palestinians face daily.
My time in Jerusalem also starkly contrasted with my experience as a Muslim tourist. Masjid al-Aqsa, which translates to "the farthest mosque," is the third holiest site in Islam. My days there consisted of walking to the Old City, fasting, praying, resting, and breaking my fast with my cousins, aunt, and friends I made through the organisation. I remember feeling a profound sense of peace and love.
During this time, Masjid al-Aqsa was filled with worshippers, many of us congregated inside and around the outdoor compound. Between prayers, some rested, others chatted, and many read the Quran or engaged in other forms of devotion.
I witnessed the beautiful ways we shared and negotiated space, making room for one another, and fitting around each other on the ground, all for the same purpose. This collective act of generosity and care made me feel truly loved. This photograph captures the moment I realised all of this, inspiring me to create sculptures that signifies this formation of togetherness.
