In her first solo show with Wusum Gallery Damascus-born painter Hala Aljaafari (b. 1988) delves into the relationship between memories and imagination at the cusp of reality and fantasy. Unchained Memories presents 16 oil paintings continuing Aljaafari’s exploration of the human psyche, particularly examining humans’ reactions to memories–whether those that come to mind spontaneously and without effort and those dearly longed for and dreamt of.
Attempting to portray moments during which humans are confronted by their past, whether involuntarily or deliberately, Aljaafari blurs the lines between memories and daydreaming–two concepts significant to her oeuvre and at the core of this body of work too. Interrogating this dynamic, she probes the painful yet often necessary question: at what point are her characters ready to move on with their lives without revisiting these memories? Or, if choosing the opposite and adhering to them, what is the price of such decisions?
In this body of work, Aljaafari transforms the face into a stage where the scenes enacting the wrangle between the consciousness and unconsciousness takes place. She presents a set of silent dialogues between her characters and their inner worlds depicting moments characterised by a myriad of emotions: rebellion, apprehension, fear, remorse, and heartbreak. The feelings’ intensity continues in carefully articulated moments of reunion and return. The face, in these paintings, connects the cognitive and emotional threads and manifests them into a series of expressions, representing the entirety of the very moment.
Instead of precision, Aljaafari creates a discursive space in her paintings, allowing fantasy and reality to conflate. In order to portray the different emotive stages of her characters, she habitually refers to the different kinds of companion animals, relying on the strong connotations these creatures often carry with regards to feelings such as anger and happiness. On the canvases, Aljaafari paints not only the very stages but also the characters’ reactions to their inner worlds. In this analogue, then, the memories may become faithful pets and peaceful companions or wild creatures and beasts, encouraging viewers to consider who, ultimately, has control over their subconsciousness.
