Khadim Ali: The Haunted Lotus

Overview

Sydney-based artist Khadim Ali is having his first solo showing at the Art Gallery of NSW. Entitled The Haunted Lotus, the free exhibition opening in March explores themes of heritage, family, morality and the consequences of fanaticism. Combining traditional with contemporary processes, he serves up everything from video to handmade rugs to delicate gouache and ink paintings inspired by the writings of Persian poet Ferdowsi.

An Afghan Hazara born in Pakistan (his grandparents fled Afghanistan to Pakistan in the 1920s after a massacre of Hazaras), Ali now lives in Sydney. His work is personal in that he explores his own demons, but it also sounds pretty epic in that he looks at displacement in general and the dehumanisation — or what he calls “cultural vandalism” — that results from the persecution of a people.

"My demons are the story of my historical self and a people who are displaced and shelterless around the world," Ali says.

Image: Khadim Ali, Untitled 1 (2013)