Utstilling - Kwestan Jamal Bawan: Åpent terreng

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Drawing and Painting

Some of our deepest feelings of identity and belonging are tied to landscapes and places. Natural and cultural landscapes in interaction with humans have also been central themes in Kwestan Jamal Bawan's artistic explorations of how and in what way people are connected to place and landscape.

The artist grew up in Sulaymaniyah in Kurdistan, northern Iraq. The war between Iran and Iraq forced her to flee her homeland, and in 1998, she came to Norway as a quota refugee with her husband and daughter.

Øystese in Hardanger was the artist's first encounter with Norwegian nature and culture.

Both places have greatly influenced Kwestan's identity and provided motivation and inspiration for her artistry. The dry and brown landscape of Kurdistan was marked by insecurity, distance, and fear, which stood in stark contrast to the free, harmonious, green, and blue landscape of Norway. Kwestan's artistic practice explores nature and experiences from different places she wanders: in varied terrain, mountains, uneven grassy paths or plains, calm rivers or turbulent seas, swirling branches or intertwined roots, paths that cross and meet each other, waves on the sea or the winding desert sand. It's not only about nature as an external motif but also about the inner landscape, and how these two experiences can meet in an artistic form of expression.

At Sandnes Kunstforening, Kwestan exhibits drawings and paintings in various sizes. Some of the materials she uses include fiber cloth, handmade rice paper, hair strands, and cardboard.

During the exhibition period, there will also be art mediation and workshops for middle school students, based on Kwestan Jamal's exhibition.

This is supported by Den kulturelle skolesekken, Sandnes.