KAAF
Hassan’s work displayed in Stewart Park is made up of green neon lighting in the shape of the letter (ﻚ [kaaf]), which is the 22nd letter in the Arabic alphabet and corresponds to “C”, “K” or “Q” in the Roman alphabet. Installed on the façade of Stewart Hall, this letter references the first letter in the Arabic spelling of both Quebec and Canada. This letter also has symbolic references to the Arabic verb for creation, (kun) and originates from the image of the “palm of the hand.” In reference to creation it has a meaning that encompasses the concept of beginning and belongs to the element of water.
Materials: Neon mounted in plexi-box.
Creative Process
Photography, writing, painting, artefacts and facsimiles mix and intermingle in Hassan’s productions. Global issues of a social, political and cultural nature, together with the status of women and social justice concerns, are among the themes that she addresses through her artistic practice.
The Artist
Jamelie Hassan was born in London, Ontario, where she continues to live and work. Her studies have taken her to many parts of the world. She attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, Italy, the Academy of Fine Arts in Beirut, Lebanon, the University of Windsor, Canada, and the Al-Mustansiriya University in Baghdad, Iraq. She has participated in many individual and collective exhibitions in Canada and abroad.
