Letters from Home-V, 2004 by Zarina Hashmi (1937-2020, India) Zarina Hashmi | WahooArt.com

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"Letters from Home-V"

Zarina Hashmi (i) - Print (i) - 65 x 47 cm - 2004 - (Devi Art Foundation (Gurgaon, India))

After Partition, it was hard to cross into Pakistan as an Indian citizen. My sister Rani’s letters connected me to the family I had been separated from.In Fourth Letter, Rani writes about leaving her house, now that her children have moved away from their home in Pakistan. With her daughter married and her son studying in the United States, the house felt too large for her husband and her. She ends her letter with, “my little sister, please don’t cry, but when you come to the house it feels like home and I missed you very much when you didn’t visit this spring.”When I could visit her house, she would lead me to the garden and say, “Remember this fragrance?” It would be a plant that grew in our family’s garden in Aligarh. She had filled her garden with plants and flowers from our childhood home, and in a way she was creating a home we could share. Many people have asked why I titled this portfolio Letters from Home when I have never lived in Pakistan. For me, home is not a place. It is wherever the people you care about most are waiting for you.

 




Early Life and Career

Zarina Hashmi, an Indian American artist and printmaker, was born on July 16, 1937. Her life's work would be marked by themes of home, displacement, borders, journey, and memory, reflecting her own experiences as a displaced person.

Artistic Style and Themes

Associated with the minimalist movement, Zarina Hashmi's work utilized abstract and geometric forms to evoke a spiritual reaction from the viewer. Her art poignantly chronicles her life, featuring recurring themes of home, place, borders, and memory.
  • Minimalism: Zarina's work tends towards minimalism, tempered by its texture and materiality.
  • Displacement and Memory: Her art reflects her own experiences as a displaced person, exploring ideas of home, place, borders, and memory.
  • Urdu Inscriptions: Zarina's use of Urdu inscriptions in her work invokes her mother tongue, denoting a lifelong 'translation' of artistic and linguistic expression.

Notable Works and Exhibitions

Home is a Foreign Place, 1999 (Portfolio of 36 woodcut chine collé with Urdu text printed on paper and mounted on paper, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, The George Economou Collection Gift), is a notable example of Zarina's work. This piece, along with others, can be found in the Zarina Hashmi's Artworks section on WahooArt.com.

Legacy and Remembrance

Zarina Hashmi's passing on April 25, 2020, marked the loss of a significant cultural figure. Her life story, as reflected in her art, continues to evoke a spiritual reaction from viewers, ensuring her legacy endures. View Zarina Hashmi's Artworks on WahooArt.com Read more about Zarina Hashmi on Wikipedia

 

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