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CINNAMON LIFE ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
FIRI RAHMAN -
Firi Rahman’s work is often concerned with the contentious relationship between humankind and the animal kingdom. He is particularly interested in the interactions between animals and urban environments, and the responsibility societies share in protecting biodiversity. His works brought to life through his sombre and monochromatic style are an intimate and sensitive engagement with wildlife. Even in their minimalism, the dexterity of his skill and close engagement with the subject imbues it with a palpable quality — compelling an empathetic response from the viewer.
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Firi Rahman wades through ideas of being and belonging as he responds to the experiences of migration and examines the obscure notions of home in his work. The artist draws inspiration from observations of parakeets in the Parisian skies. Introduced along the routes of luxury trade as exotic species, they have come to inhabit the foreign landscapes of Europe. Removed from their natural habitats, these creatures are slowly adapting to new environments, but as their populations increase, they are being viewed as invasive and a threat to local fauna. They are refugees in a foreign land, much like those who have left their loved ones and familiar habitat, carrying dreams and hopes for a better life.
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Rahman’s practice reflects a deep empathy for creatures of flight, reading in their interactions with each other the warmth and comfort they seek in the companionship of kin and kith with whom they share their nest. The pencil and ink drawings appear as residues left behind after the vibrancy of colour is removed, evoking a contained expression of hope enveloped in the angst of separation, grief that mixes with warm affection.
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Home is a conglomerate of experiences that come to exist in the bonds shared between people, contained in the memories of immobile objects that occupy a house, in the roads that are taken every day, and in the monotony of existence. It is a complex imagination created through associations, emotional attachments, experiences, and nostalgia.
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Firi Rahman
Pandemonium, 2024Soaring up against the sky like a maelstrom, Rahman’s leitmotif of birds fly across uncharted routes seeking nameless destinations in the nine-part drawing Pandemonium, essaying the uncertainty that accompanies journeying through unknown roads. The series draws from the artist's observation of parakeets in the Parisian skies. Introduced along the routes of luxury trade as exotic species, they have come to inhabit the foreign landscapes of Europe. Removed from their natural habitats these creatures are slowly adapting to new environments, but as their populations increase they are being viewed as invasive and a threat to local fauna. They are refugees in a foreign land much like those who have left their loved one and familiar habitat, carrying dreams and hopes for a better life. -
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Cinnamon Life Artist Spotlight | Firi Rahman
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