“Lebanese-Canadian artist Jayce Salloum traveled with Afghan-Hazara artist Khadim Ali, from Karachi, Pakistan to Kabul, Afghanistan and then overland into the Bamiyan Valley in Central Afghanistan in 2008. The land is scarred by decades of conflict, ravaged by drought and desperate poverty, and troubled by tribal rivalries and a persistent Taliban presence. The artists’ traveled independently and to some extent clandestinely. Of specific interest to the artists were the ruined cave sites of the c. 5th century Buddhas, destroyed by the Taliban in March 2001. The ruins of the Bamiyan Buddhas provided a site from which to examine the situation of the Hazara people, a persecuted Shi’a Muslim minority, who believe themselves to be descended from the sculptors who produced the colossal figures of the Buddha. The project records the destitution of current conditions in Bamiyan, reflecting on the sites of signification and rupture shaping an incipient modernity in Afghanistan. The project documents a significant moment in the history of the Hazara people, many of whom are seeking asylum in the West. The exhibition engages a sense of the complexity of the current situation in Afghanistan, taking up themes of the possibility of resistance, hope, beauty in the context of ongoing conflict.

 “…heart…” represents an important artistic collaboration examining the impact of a particular instance of ‘cultural terrorism’ in the contemporary context of war. The artists go beyond the front line of the conflict in Afghanistan to explore the lived experiences of the Hazara community, a persecuted ethnic minority who predominate in the province of Bamiyan. The project takes the form of a personal archive, juxtaposing miniature paintings and photographs alongside text and other material. It unsettles the critical contexts and art-historical categories of each artist’s work to engage a timely cross-cultural dialogue.” – from the artist.