A compelling and visceral fine art exhibition opened in Dandenong this week giving insights into the plight of the Hazara people who have been the targets of genocide and exclusion for decades.

Barat Ali Batoor, Award-winning Photographer and curator of the ‘The Politics of Imagination’ art exhibition. Photo: Zia Khan.

Curated by Afghan Walkley Award-winning Photographer Barat Ali Batoor, the exhibition titled ‘The Politics of Imagination’ is comprised of a series of artworks by young and emerging Hazara artists from Afghanistan and Pakistan, born and raised during the war or in exile.

Hazaras, deprived of their basic rights in Afghanistan have remained isolated from art and education for over a century.

Batoor says that as access to these mediums has increased over time, emerging artists have used arts to express their sufferings of the persecution and discrimination.

“An important aim of showcasing these artworks is to educate younger Hazaras about the community’s current circumstances, importantly social issues,” he said.

“Upon taking control of parts of Afghanistan, the Taliban, in the late 1990s massacred thousands of Hazaras,” Batoor said.

“As a result, many fled to the neighbouring countries of Pakistan and Iran, some seeking asylum in Australia. The community is settling well in their new country, largely in South Eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

“This exhibition will be a great opportunity for the artists to share their work and the community to engage and learn,” Batoor said.
The artists:

Asad Ali Changezi

Deptich Series, Asad Ali Changezi.

Born in Quetta, Pakistan, Asad has been working in digital media for the last five years and has been practicing the technicalities and functions of digital media using cameras, digital prints, and videos in 360 degrees.

He loves the diverse cultures, traditions and rituals of his region and they have been a driving force behind his passion and commitment to art.

Asad has exhibited his works in galleries around Pakistan. He is one of the participants of SAARC Artist Camp & Exhibition 2016 in Bhutan. He is currently a lecturer at the National College of Arts Lahore, Pakistan.

Asad graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Baluchistan University in 2007 and completed his Masters of Fine Arts degree from College of Art and Design (PUCAD) in 2008.

Asad studied Masters of Visual Arts from National College of Arts (NCA) Lahore in 2013. His experience at NCA has expanded his observation and art exposure widely.

He believes that NCA was a great platform for him where he learnt more about contemporary art from renowned Pakistani art practitioners, artists, and critics, which allowed him to become familiarized with the mainstream Pakistani art arena and to expand the dimension of his visual vocabularies.

J. Mones

Photo: Zia Khan

J. Mones was born in 1979 in Qarabagh district, Ghazni province in Afghanistan: a land he says is filled with petrification and despotism that stifles voices and art.

He says his childhood memories are of torture, pain, and regrets. He found the passion for art in his early childhood but due to the absence of facilities and opportunities in his village he wasn’t able to have proper training.

He says that when he was just nine years old; his teacher at a religious school (Madrasa) punished him for drawing a caricature of Salman Rushdie.

Mones was forced to flee Afghanistan due to the ongoing civil war and only then did he receive proper training from Mr. Shah Mahmood in exile in Pakistan.

Due to increased insecurity in Pakistan, Mones once again had to flee the country and this time it took him all the way to Europe. He pursued his dream in Vienna and enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in 2010.

Mones is currently studying his masters in Fine Arts. His paintings depict people and cultures from all around the world and Mones has extensively exhibited his works in galleries and museums around Europe.

Rubaba Haider

The rose’s rarest essence lives in the thorns (Rumi) II, 2014, Gouache on wasli paper, 35 x 40 cm, Rubaba Haider.

Rubaba Haider is a contemporary artist who was born in Quetta, Pakistan. She holds a BFA (Miniature Painting) from the National College of Arts, Lahore (2008) and recently completed a BA (Criminal Justice) from RMIT University Melbourne.

Her works have been shown in group exhibitions both in Australia and overseas and is held in a number of private collections in Europe, the subcontinent and Australia.

In 2014, Haider held her first Solo exhibition ‘The stitch is lost, unless the thread be knotted’ at Niagara Galleries, Melbourne. She has been commissioned as an art consultant for public art projects for the City of Melbourne (2015) and RMIT University (2016), as well as a site-specific installation at Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, Perth (2016).

Rubaba currently lives and works in Melbourne and is represented by Niagara Galleries in Melbourne.

Ramzan Jafri

Ramzan Jafari

From very young age Ramzan was interested in painting and so, along with his other studies, he also joined art classes. Due to his interest in arts, he got the opportunity to join the National College of Art (NCA) Lahore, Pakistan.

Born in 1984 in Quetta, Pakistan, he successfully completed his BFA in 2012 with distinction. Since then he has specialised in Miniature Painting and after graduation, he participated in several national and international exhibitions where his paintings were highly commended.

Laurie Nowell
AMES Australia Senior Journalist