Humaira Fayazi
Humaira Fayazi, was born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan, where she had her own gallery and taught art classes. There she held exhibitions with young, local men and women. She first came to Australia in 2018 as a refugee. When she arrived in Melbourne, Humi volunteered with AMES Australia to provide other young refugees an opportunity to express themselves through art. Humi started her traineeship at Space2b one year ago and has learnt a huge variety of skills in that time.
Humi works across various media with a focus on ceramic works and installation art. “Working at Space2b has given me the confidence and experience to hopefully own and run my own successful gallery in the future. Art is a very important part of my life. In the future I would love to give the same opportunity to other young talented women who have come from disadvantaged backgrounds and provide them a safe platform to show their skills and handcrafts to others.”
From the darkness of war, Humaira Fayazi finds ways to shine light on the heroics of women. Humi’s poignant works have long explored the theme. “In a country at war, my mum learned to be strong and to protect her family.” That’s why the theme of this collaborative exhibition in March represents ‘Female Empowerment’ to demonstrate how strong women are and what they can achieve, even under difficult circumstances.
Why do the paintings of the women have their eyes closed?
When I close my eyes I see another world. When I do feel good or feel stressed I close my eyes. When dreaming, I close my eyes. When sad, when so confused and I can’t make decisions or if I am thinking about something, if I am tired, I close my eyes and think about things.
Why are there wings in your portraits?
Wings are a symbol of peace.
What do you want to show in your art in this exhibition?
I grew up in Afghanistan and learnt how to be strong at a very young age. As a result of a bomb blast, I was seriously injured. When I was hurt, I learnt how to start again. It doesn’t matter how much pain you are in, you can always start again. I still can’t sleep. When I close my eyes, I still remember that day. When I first saw Vicki’s artwork, I thought ‘I want to meet that woman’. And then when Violet suggested I work with her on Face2Face, I was so excited as I realised I knew her from Paint for fun’ art class, so it was meant to be.
Proudly supporting local artists and our art community
OPENING TIMES:
TUES – FRI 10am - 5pm, SAT 10am - 3pm
ArtSpace @ Space2b Social Design,
144 Chapel St, Balaclava
artspace@space2b.com.au