Habibi, I Have Risen: A review of Rise, Habibi during the Shubbak Festival, London by Hafsa AlKhudairi
But if you're not moved by this outrage,
you might as well bathe in scent,
kohl your eyes,
and wear the bridal dress!
Afira bint 'Abbad
Based on forty poems in the book "Classical Poems by Arab Women" by Abdullah Al-Udhari, Rise, Habibi is a group exhibition of women artists reinterpreting the poems through art. The curator Roisin O'Loughlin, who is an actress, was inspired by her background in acting, expressing how every line fed to actresses are reinterpreted in their own expression beyond the origins of the line. She was curious how female artists would react to poems that work like "testimonies of women from the past" which she described as "timeless and almost modern". The poems are a fascinating insight into the experience of women from pre-islam to the Andalusian era. Fifty artists, from a variety of backgrounds, posted a poem and they came back with a different interpretation of words through their unique style and medium.
Despite seeing a variety of quality in the works displayed, the outcome as a group showed the strength of the concept of the show and its inclusion of the "Multiplicity of voices from the Arab world as well as Muslim women from around the world", however the curator did not stop there and included artists from all over the world. The goal was to move "the core of female freedom from western perspective to the world at large, inverting the majority from the western one to reflect the actual global one. Flesh out the sense of shared experience of what it means to be a woman". The curator took that a step further by ensuring that "no one is expected to represent a culture or make a political statement, it is a way of expressing".
The relationship between the artworks and the poems is tangible. Scenes of grief, love, fierceness, and wit initiated in the poems are completed with the artworks. Although each can exist without the other, the connection enhances both. The poems are free and the artworks are free. The curator explains in regards to the poems that "the women are not self-censoring and are free from the tyranny of niceness by saying what they want in the way they want it." The same can be said about contemporary artists responding back to their ancestors. The variety of quality and artistic development is freeing as well. There is no expectation of perfection, just expression with a joyful production.
Beyond the visual and conceptual aspects of the show, the idea has a "tangible impact", the profits from selling the artworks are split between the artists and Gaza. According to the curator, it is "a way to reinforce the shared humanity". The story of Arabs and/or Muslims does not happen in a vacuum. The nuance of our existence may be symbolized through the poems and artworks but there is a general human experience that can be felt through the works, on a personal and conceptual level.
The space itself lends itself into the human experience. Taking place in the Crypt Gallery, a burial ground, where different religions meet, stories of women and muslims come to life.
According to the curator, "we are bringing back to life long dead poets and bringing their words back to life." Furthermore, the experience of the audience members is one of awe. They would walk into a space slightly underground and be greeted (after the welcome desk) with a new temperature and a visual that ends with a beautiful traditionally sewn outfit. Yet the beauty of the space lies in its"labyrinth"-like ability to create intimate spaces between the viewer, the poem, and the artwork, allowing a feeling of surprise. Reflecting on the space, the curator expressed: "You can really experience, be with, experience, and take in the emotion of the artworks and the poems as they exist in little bubbles."
Out of the fifty artworks, three were pre-existing and six were produced for a show in 2017 that addressed the Syrian civil war, which used the same concept with a lesser number of artists and poems. The rest were new commissions.
Rise, Habibi was held during the Shubbak Festival in London.