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February 8, 2007

Sharlene Khan: "It Started Off as Them and Ended Up as Me"

[This will be my last post of Indo-African material, and I wanted to end on a note of cultural solidarity. Thanks again for accompanying

me on my trip to Kenya.]

A few weeks ago, Amardeep wrote a nice report from a conference about Indo-African writers:

Desai argues that there were some members of the Asian community " especially artists, playwrights, and poets " who were

trying to envision a sense of shared culture with their black African neighbors.

On that note, I thought I would share the work of my friend Sharlene Khan, a South

African artist I met in 2004. She was born in Durban to Muslim and Christian parents

(she is Christian) and lives now in Johannesburg, having collected two masters

degrees in art, despite her deep antipathy toward all things institutional and official,

and done residencies in Cairo and the south of France — like any good artist, trying to

avoid joining the work force.

Indian painting has become very popular (and lucrative) in the global art market these

days, with post-modern, post-cubist, semi-abstract renderings of Hindu deities and

Indian village scenes being all the rage — the proteges and imitators of MF Husain.

But Sharlene’s work is none of that.

Her themes are African, her sensibility humanist. One of her series concerns the plight of laborers and street musicians in Durban. She

also did an installation based on the little tents that itinerant barbers, often immigrants from other parts of Africa, set up on the

sidewalks of South African cities. She has painted murals like Diego Rivera and designed clothing for a fashion show, painting the

fabric and inscribing it with text.

A good phrase to describe her stance is the title of the painting above: “It Started Off as Them and Ended Up as Me.”

She once emailed me about her disdain for the term "diaspora, " since the notion behind it (a people outside their homeland) has been a

political issue in South Africa: "”It chiefly recognises similarities at the expense of equally important localised differences. I don’t really

consider myself as part of such a diaspora, I am a South African Indian who is very located in this specific country at this specific

juncture in time. And while I realise that the sense of ‘Indianness’ is probably a valid one among many migrant communities, in South

Africa it was promoted by the apartheid government to ensure that Indians in this country were made to feel like outsiders. Indians

have been in SAfrica since the 1820’s.” "

Her work takes up themes of alienation and longing, the degradation of unemployment, and the simple human joys of family. Her

realism is deeply sympathetic, which is a rare trait (it’s also the hallmark of the very best photojournalism, which is one reason I admire

it).

So here is an African artist of Indian descent, painting African themes that touch on universal human experiences. But don’t call it

diasporic.

Photograph of Sharlene Khan by Preston Merchant

Paintings by Sharlene Khan

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Sharlene Khan

Madonna and Pokemon Child (2002)

A Friend Loves at All Times, but a Brother is Born in Adversity (2002)



Dotcoza (2001)

Gokarting (2001)



Ikhaya, The Long Walk (2000)

Man Down (2000)



Two Loaves and Five Fishes

(2002)

Two Loaves and Five Fishes,

detail 1 (2002)



Art

Two Loaves and Five Fishes,

detail 2 (2002)

POSTED BY preston @ 3:55 PM

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29 Comments

viet#namita | February 8, 2007 4:06 PM | Reply

this is fabulous! preston, i have enjoyed your posts so much over the past few months -- thanks for taking the time to share your

experiences. ms. khan may be more willing to identify herself as a global south asian rather than part of a diaspora?

SemiDesiMasala | February 8, 2007 4:45 PM | Reply

Thanks for all of your wonderful posts, Preston. I really enjoyed this one and I truly appreciate your body of work as a whole. :)

Amardeep | February 8, 2007 4:54 PM | Reply

Cool paintings. I like the first two the best, and also "Man Down."

I wonder: how has her work been received by black South Africans? It may "have started out as them and ended up as me," but

I wonder -- in South Africa, is she "them" or "we"?

Janeofalltrades | February 8, 2007 5:01 PM | Reply

Beautiful stuff Preston. Very Gauguin in Tahiti. Thank you for sharing and Sharlene is quite the work of art herself.

Whose God is it anyways? | February 8, 2007 5:21 PM | Reply

these are wonderful. what is the scale of her paintings? i especially like "ikhaya, the long walk" and the detail on the girl's dress

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(looks like other similar scenes). also seems to have done that on the jacket in "man down."

Mr Kobayashi | February 8, 2007 5:41 PM | Reply

This is great. Well done Preston.

And well done Sharlene: for your work, which is excellent; for your ideas, which are noble. You've lived deeply.

Respect!

Ravi the Lurker | February 8, 2007 5:43 PM | Reply

Two Loaves and Five Fishes looks like a great installation. I wish I could have seen it.

shlok | February 8, 2007 5:48 PM | Reply

wow. look at the detail in Two Loaves and Five Fishes. very interesting titles some of these work have, too. most impressive

pieces i've seen lately.

Mango Pickle | February 8, 2007 7:56 PM | Reply

I was surprised by how young Sharlene looks/is. I really like that picture of her. It's so natural and refreshing.

What a great post, and great inspiration. It's really nice to see a Desi create art that embraces Africa. It is a nice change from all

the Indians (and Indian-Americans) who still carry seeds of racism towards black people. I've had to deal with way too many

racist Indian people, and it drives me crazy, and also fosters an unhealthy resentment towards my own community.

Amitabh | February 8, 2007 8:18 PM | Reply

It is nice that she saw so much beauty, and so much to celebrate, among a people that she identified with on such a strong

level...when many of us (myself included) would have probably seen them as something separate. Her ideas are indeed noble.

And the artwork is beautiful.

ashvin | February 8, 2007 8:30 PM | Reply

Is there a story behind "Two Loaves and Five Fishes" ? I get the Biblical reference, but can't figure out what the story of JC

feeding the 5000 has to do with the piece.

Her paintings are lovely (and, like JOAT said, so is she).

Pooja | February 8, 2007 9:23 PM | Reply

Wonderful paintings, wonderful photographs, wonderful post. Thanks, Preston.

Naiverealist | February 8, 2007 9:37 PM | Reply

Very beautiful paintings. A picture is indeed worth a thousand words.

watevz | February 8, 2007 9:45 PM | Reply

lovely

Sadaf T | February 8, 2007 10:37 PM | Reply



I do like her paintings very much, especially the richness of the colors. I was struck by her comment .."I am a South African

Indian..." I'm not going to pretend great knowledge of the history of Indians in S.Africa, but her national allegiance got me

thinking. At first, it was hard to grasp, why? Of course, then I belatedly realized that it's no different than me thinking of myself

as an American first, desi second..if that's possible to think so linear-ly. Great post.

tash | February 9, 2007 1:24 AM | Reply

But don"t call it diasporic.

So great to see another soul who professes hatred for the D word that has spread from magazines like Time and Outlook like a

nasty pash rash.

Thanks for your posts Preston, it's nice to get a look in on localised Indian and African communities. It's nice to see Africa

portrayed in its real, multilayered and thriving nature rather than as an amorphous continent largely forgotten by the west and

its press. I think Sharlene's placement of figures and faces in the strangest places - on fruit, on a child's dress, on the walls of a

street stall- reflects this too.

Thanks for taking us along on your trip to Kenya

SP | February 9, 2007 2:28 AM | Reply

Wow! Fantastic stuff. I hope she'll exhibit widely.

Huey | February 9, 2007 3:14 AM | Reply

Have to second JOAT's motion. Sharlene Khan has great collection of beautiful art, as well as being a work of art herself. She's

a cutie.

Aditya | February 9, 2007 3:32 AM | Reply

Love the warm and earthy feel of 'Two loaves and five fishes'.

Was wondering what the market for her kind of art is? Of African Art in general? India's art economy is, like Bollywood, mostly

boosted by rich people of Indian descent in the West. Is it rich Africans who buy African art? Or Westerners who have fallen in

love with Africa?

Sriram | February 9, 2007 9:26 AM | Reply

Thanks for all your great posts, Preston. These paintings are very inspiring.

CinamonRani | February 9, 2007 10:56 AM | Reply

I have come across Sharlene "s art a lot in Durban; she has been featured in many local TV shows and exhibition. She and many

other South Asians are part of a rapid growing bunch of international caliber artist. I wish they all had websites to give you an

insight to their work.

Hope you had a lovely trip Preston, thank you for showing the world our unique beautiful Africa.

Camille | February 9, 2007 11:54 AM | Reply

These paints and photos are spectacular. Thanks, as always, Preston. I'm bummed to see the Afro-Desi project conclude :(

Raj | February 9, 2007 2:08 PM | Reply



CinamonRani on February 9, 2007 10:56 AM ! Direct link

I have come across Sharlene "s art a lot in Durban; she has been featured in many local TV shows and

exhibition. She and many other South Asians are part of a rapid growing bunch of international caliber

artist. I wish they all had websites to give you an insight to their work.

http://myweb.absamail.co.za/sharlenefkhan/

https://www.neoimages.net/artwork.aspx?nid=2009727

and more art from Sharlene

http://www.bagfactoryart.org.za/html/resident/residents/sharlene/sharlene.htm

https://www.neoimages.net/resume.aspx?id=1242

Preston | February 9, 2007 2:26 PM | Reply

I didn't post a link to Sharlene's website because it is many years out of date. But she's easily googlable.

risible | February 9, 2007 3:41 PM | Reply

Great paintings!

risible | February 9, 2007 3:50 PM | Reply

There are plenty of poor in America who lack material things too--like heat or running water--that's why they call the free rescue

squad every night the temperature drops below freezing with some made-up ailment so they can spend the night in the warm

ER.

Absolutely no question. But the magnitude of poverty in India (and Africa) is much worse. I look for charities that provide the

most basic of human necessities, viz., food. Some people in India ain't got jack, and nothing besides, thanks to callous - and

corrupt - governance and a hubristic nomenklatura. Generally I give to efficient Hindu (non-Hindutva) charities, like

Ramakrishna Mission and ISKCON and some secular charities as well. I avoid Christian missionaries (and crypto-Christian

organizations) because I am revolted by their tribal conversion agenda.

That being said, I have been compelled to donate here during emergency situations, like Katrina. Suffering people are suffering

people. And I have volunteered pro bono plenty of times.

That being said, regarding the current discussion, who cares where you donate your time/money/energy, as long as you do it

somewhere? And the reason for doing it locally certainly shouldn't be to earn acceptance or gratitude.

I agree. Do what pleases your heart, not what boosts your ego.

pied piper | February 9, 2007 8:31 PM | Reply

Fabulous post, yet again -- thanks Preston!

Nara | February 12, 2007 4:41 PM | Reply

I am not feeling this art but I think SM should invite Preston regularly to blog here.

Annie | November 26, 2008 6:01 AM | Reply

TASH.... South Africa not kenya

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