Khattar Shaheen presents Unfolding Stories: Pending

Residency

From 18 March to 13 May, every Wednesday afternoon in Rozet, Khattar Shaheen opened the door to his artist practice wide for every Arnhemmer from near and far.

Presentation

On the wall of the auditorium in Rozet hangs one black-and-white drawing after another. Those who follow all the steps down pass tables filled with food, houses, clocks, birds, distant views and, of course, suitcases. Khattar’s work is full of them.

At the end of the long staircase, with all its glimpses into the lives of the artists who took part in Unfolding Stories, there is a making table with paper and charcoal. ‘Let your hand draw, not your brain,’ instructs Khattar as everyone takes a seat. ‘Feel free to create something to leave behind or take with you.’

Fragile medium

Charcoal invites you in, Khattar believes, as a meditative silence descends around the making table. It is his favourite material. ‘If your finger touches it, it disappears. It is a fragile medium. It fits with my themes, such as vulnerability and the passing of time. A charcoal drawing is never perfect. It is a human creation; it speaks to everyone. People can connect with it.’

The here and now

For Khattar, drawing is a way to process emotions and events. ‘Through expression, your thoughts can fly freely out of the back of your mind. This way of working is a form of processing. I want to emphasise that for the rest of my life.’

He has experienced the past weeks as something very special. ‘This is a vulnerable group to work with. I wanted the participants to experience the here and now without being afraid of the future or the past. That can already be difficult when you have not experienced war. I wasn’t able to do it for a long time either, but during this project I was able to get a grip on it for the first time.’

Sharing moments

Then it is time to show the audience, partly made up of participants in this project, the result of Unfolding Stories. Inspired by the participants’ stories and drawings, Khattar created a three-minute stop-motion film. By way of introduction, he says: ‘It has been a pleasure getting to know you. We have shared beautiful moments with each other. You have inspired me. In my studio, I explored how I could bring you into my drawings.’

A press of the button and Pending: on waiting, unstable times and the fragile act of being present begins.

A film that touches

The past and the future, arriving and waiting, presence and absence: those who look closely, or better yet, feel deeply, will recognise all these themes in the result of Khattar’s research. A running horse, a fish in a cage, a table transforming into a landscape: Pending is an intuitive film with fantastic music by Rabee Kanafari.

‘I thought it was beautiful, including the soundscape,’ says Renée from Ruimtekoers afterwards. ‘The film gave me a slightly uncomfortable feeling.’ Khattar nods at those words. ‘But it really touched me,’ she continues.

Shining like the sun

Navine from collaboration partner CONNECT is impressed by all the works on the wall, the concentration at the making table and the film. ‘These projects are so important. Of course, we are not care providers, but in an indirect way you keep seeing that people are touched and helped by them.’

The participants are especially proud. ‘It is really nice to see my drawing on the wall instead of on a table,’ says Roshna. She created a mini stop-motion during one of the workshop days, which Khattar shows as a short film before the main film. She is beaming like the sun when she talks about it afterwards.