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Tuesday, August 8, 2017

THE YOU & I



("Day's End" - work by Ganjatun Mulla)

The You & I is an exhibition by Ganjatun Mulla due to open at artSPACE durban shortly. It is a dynamic idea evolving over time in relation to how events and experiences can shape us and how we can counter shape the way we experience the experience.”

We live together, we act on, and react to, one another; but always and in all circumstances we are by ourselves. The martyrs go hand in hand into the arena; they are crucified alone. Embraced, the lovers desperately try to fuse their insulated ecstasies into a single self-transcendence; in vain. By its very nature every embodied spirit is doomed to suffer and enjoy in solitude. Sensations, feelings, insights, fancies - all these are private and, except through symbols and at second hand, incommunicable. We can pool information about experiences, but never the experiences themselves. From family to nation, every human group is a society of island universes.

Ganjatun Mulla is an artist. She is best known for her expressive artistic techniques in compelling visual illustrations of her homeland and cultural roots. She has spent the most part of her life in silence, communicating solely through her art. She believes in the empowerment of women and their struggle for independence in all those who fail to realize their potential and self-worth.

She is of Omani and Persian decent but was born and raised in Tanzania before moving to Dubai and later on South Africa. She says her passion for art derives from the works of the surrealist painter Salvador Dali, whom she likens with her philosophical view of the world; a world that is only as real as it appears. She is quoted as saying "we live in the image of who we want to become not of who we've become. In doing so, we subconsciously lose sight of the lessons from the past, the beauty of the present and the opportunities of the future." Her art has become a means of expressing this doctrine and to live each day with a sense of optimism and ambition.

Ganjatun Mulla currently lives in Zimbali.

The You & I opens on August 11 at 18h00 for 18h30 and runs until August 24. artSPACE durban is situated at 3 Millar Road (off Umgeni Road) close to the Waste Centre. More information on 031 312 0793 or visit www.artspacedurban.co.za or www.artspacedurban.blogspot.com