Hanana Banana -Take my Baggage, 2023

Title: Hanana Banana Take My Baggage 

Artist: Hanan Khan 

Size: 98.5” x 58.5” 

Medium: Photography, Banana Costume, Paper, Metal wire plate, Yarn, 60 Tote bags with ink print on them, and acrylic Paint. 

My inspiration for this piece came from the desire to give back to the community and share a part of my journey with Mount Holyoke College Community. I wanted to make an art piece that could be taken by the attendees. At the same time, I wanted to make a practical Art piece that can be used. Therefore, after a lot of consideration I reached the conclusion of making my art piece with tote bags. 

I wanted to communicate to the viewer who I am as a student and as a person. The black ink screen print Islamic pattern represents the beautiful part of my culture that I wanted to share. Islamic architecture and patterns are fascinating. I chose the colors on the bag to be purple and yellow because the Purple represents Frances Perkins scholars, of which I am a proud FP, and the yellow represents the class of 2023 the yellow Sphinxes, which is my class year. Also, Banana is yellow so as of my class year 2023.

The Silly pictures of me wearing a banana costume represent the silly part of me that not a lot of people see. Most people think that I got my life in order, an independent, serious person, and that I don’t need help. NOPE! I do not have my life in order, okay I am independent, but still Help ME!, and I am not a serious person. I am a silly banana 95% of the time. And the 5% is where I try so hard to withhold my silliness and hide it. This metal sheet represents me building a fence to contain who I am. To my surprise people accepted me walking around in a banana costume and working out in a banana costume so I am dropping the fence. 

The yarn is purple because it represents my support system in real life and everyday life THE FP’s. This piece would not have come to life without all the support I got from the FP’s during my Car accident during Spring Break. They picked me up from my house, helped me pack, and one of them let me crash at her house on campus for 6 days. Now I know how it feels to be a real student and be on campus 24 hours a day. I screen printed all 60 pages the day after my accident. I worked on them constantly during my stay on campus. Unfortunately, I figured out how to screen print on fabric when I had 11 bags left. Thus, I was only truly satisfied with 11 bags, the 59 I learned to love. I made my new mantra “Accept the Imperfection “. 

To push the idea conceptually of using a tote bag instead of paper. I wanted to make the piece even more interactive by including a usage of the baggage. Thus, I thought of balloons as a visual representation of being my own baggage then wrote what each balloon will be carrying. I made a list of 60 things that I am carrying around to be taken by the attendees. I got a tiny banana and stuck a nail in it to be the tool to pop the balloon. I included in the instructions that the balloon be carried for at least an hour, then popped to release the baggage that I am carrying. This made the work a healing process by including the audience in my personal life.