Haniyyah Khan
Timeless Symphony
My research this semester investigates the settlement patterns of the South Asian population in Calgary to educate and commemorate an interdependent culture through census data. With Canada's rich history of South Asian immigration starting from 1903, their contributions to Canadian society have not been recorded or restored. Starting in the place where I grew up, I wanted to share the expansion of our community over the years as it has significantly shaped the richness of our local communities. Using a collaborative method in my research, my community supported this project by sharing textile materials that reflect their ethnic identities. Furthermore, this social research allowed me to connect with my elders to create an ancestral relationship with these precious materials. This organic arrangement of patterns illustrates how different cultures harmonize within the South Asian region. This work reveals our connection with our history, despite being displaced from our native land. What is most important about this work is the narratives that each fabric explores. As we move to foreign lands for a better future, we bring these aspects of our identity and history with us that cannot be forgotten. These locally sourced materials discuss how true this community remains to the richness and depth of shared histories as we live in harmony in an unfamiliar land together.
Artist Biography
Haniyyah Khan is a Pakistani-Canadian visual artist studying at the University of Calgary. She is a multidisciplinary artist predominantly working in textile, drawing and printmaking materials as a way to explore the complexities of the South Asian diaspora. Using her previous background in the scientific discipline of physics and chemistry, her artistic approach is influenced by experimentation and technical procedures in printmaking. She explores the complexities of identity and selfhood informed by emotional, personal stories of immigration of herself and others. Intertwining Eastern themes into conventional western artmaking practices, she explores these ideas in a new light.
Artist statement
My art practice is influenced by the values of my South Asian community: care, interdependency, time and craftsmanship. As orientalists, these are values we keep in many areas of our lives regardless of the occupation or place we live in the world. As I began showing my work in gallery spaces, I noticed the lack of South Asian themes and culture shared with the public. Therefore, it has become an unwelcoming place for much of the South Asian community, regardless of their prominent presence on the Canadian landscape. I choose to be an artist that pushes that boundary and allows these communities to recognize themselves in an unfamiliar place.
How did you start your art practice?
My formal practice started as I enrolled into the Visual Studies major, however, I have always been a creative. Whether that was drawing, painting or crafting, I constantly busied myself with new materials to experiment even if they weren't made for experimenting. It wasn't until recently that I knew how I could utilize my creative abilities to help my community in ways that I never imagined.