OUT OF THE VASE’S NECK the immersive experience
2023, Hanan Khan
We have a saying back home “Finally out of the vase’s neck” meaning out of the hardship experience into the life we want to live in or it might also means out of you family’s control. We also have another saying” We Arabic speakers tend to use English to express our emotions most of the time because we are oppressing our real emotions by not expressing our emotions in Arabic” The reason behind this saying because Arabic is rich in vocabulary and using English to express emotions limit how deep the emotion actually is. I personally almost always avoid listing to songs in Arabic because it hit my every sting of emotion and rack me. Thus, I listen to English music more to avoid hitting my emotional stings. GUILTY as charged as the saying said. In This body of work, I chose to reconnect with my emotions and also immerse the viewer in a new experience. Even though it will be a foreign language to most viewers the emotional output is there: of reaching out of rock bottom and getting out of the bottom into freedom. This is a mixed media piece that contains: Pottery, fake candle, tablecloth, hula-hoops, bungee robes, zip tights, and calligraphy written in Arabic with different sharpie pens. Song/ Lyrics is by Saad Aziz. Sung by Aflah al-Masrorry
يا راكبا في رحلة الحياة الى
تظن أنها قصيره مذهلة
فكم من راكب أراد وجهة
لينتهي به الطريق مقفلا
هي الحياة لعبة قانونها
الفوزُ ليس بالوصول أولا
بل بالوقوع والوقوع فرصة
للحلمِ أن يقيس العزم سائلا
استسلم أم أكمل
فاستمر فاستمر لأنها الحياة تترا ترا
فاستمر فاستمر حينا جميلة وحينا غادرة
على الطريق سوف تلقى صحبة
فاحذر فليس كلهم بصاحبي
والحب ايضا فيه يبدو غائبا
لكنه هو خلف الستار يختبئ
فخذ للخلف خطوة ترى بها
ثم اخطو ألفا للجمال الغائب
واختر ما بين أن تكون صامدا
أو حبة في لوح كيرم ابي لك الخيار صاحبي.
فاستمر فاستمر لأنها الحياة تترا ترا
فاستمر فاستمر حينا جميلة وحينا غادرة
Song translation:
You who are riding the journey of life, don’t think it is short and fascinating. Because how many riders wanted a destination, but the road ended up closed on their face. Life is a game, and it’s rule is not by reaching first, but by falling and falling is a chance for your dream to measure the commitment, did you give up or did you continued. So, continue, continue because that is life ttra traa. Continue, continue sometimes it’s beautiful, and sometimes it hurt.
On the road you will meet a lot of people but be careful not all of them are friends. Even love on the road seems missing, but it is hiding behind the curtains. So, take a step back to see it clearly, then, step a thousand steps to the existing beauty. And choose to stand tall or be a flat checker’s piece on your father board! you have the choice my friend! So, keep Going, and never stop!
This work is a visual story telling about oppression of female in Saudi. It is my own experience it’s not necessary every female story from Saudi. The vase represents the society itself, palm tree represent one side of the country-nature, beauty, wealth, and agriculture. On the other hand, the figure represents another side of the country- female struggle to reach freedom, clam their own identity.
The curtains immerses the viewer with the intention of giving the viewer the sense of what is it like to be inside the vase. The outside of the curtains one is covered with dark paint in a chaotic way, and the other is clean for the purpose of emphasizing that there is always two sides of one story. The inside of the curtains I wrote the lyrics of the song to show that the word of the song is what keep most women from giving up. The table clothes represent society’s expectation from females, I wrote on it in Arabic:
- Lower your voice.
- Don’t laugh loudly.
- Cover your face.
- Cover your hair.
- No!
- NO NO NO NO!
- Get married already.
- No sport!
- You can’t ride a bicycle.
- You can’t go see your friends.
- No sleep over at friend house.
- You parent are absolute don’t dare disobey them!
- Shame on you!
- Stay at home that is where you belong.
- Cook!
- Clean!
- You are not a boy, therefore NO to whatever you want!
- You are not your brother!
- Your voice is something forbidden to be heard by male!
The vase resembles the society that holds the women down. The figure is jumping out of the vase you can see the toes tippy toe when it first come out off the vase. Then the footsteps become more confident and walk with full feet on the ground. The figure is taking confident steps forward. Toward the door. The door resembles the opportunity that the figure had the courage to walk to and opening the door meaning entering a new opportunity. When entering the door, a window appears with hands those are the people in the opportunity that are lending a helping hand. But the figure is used to getting help. Therefore, pushing the help; the window away. And find a banana with a smiley face. The banana resembles that one person even if pushed away they still stick around and help anyway.
