ART INTERVIEW SACHA JAFRI IN CONVERSATION WITH <strong>MAGZOID</strong> 42 www.magzoid.com <strong>March</strong> <strong>2021</strong>
Sacha Jafri, one <strong>of</strong> the most celebrated artists <strong>of</strong> our time, has been able to reach more than 2.5 billion people worldwide through this single piece <strong>of</strong> art which took seven months, 20 hours a day, to complete. He used 1,065 paintbrushes and a whopping 6,300 liters <strong>of</strong> paint to create the extraordinary painting. His work melds themes <strong>of</strong> global politics, shared experience, and cityscapes. Jafri's practice frequently combines elements <strong>of</strong> curation and performance as seen in his 2006 touring exhibition ‘Jafri Meets Warhol’. “I have various ambitions as a painter and they have to be fulfilled, otherwise I won’t feel like I’m living,” the artist said. “I want to be remembered in 500 years; I want to be the Kandinsky <strong>of</strong> my time: that will take at least another 20 years. It’s more important to be poignant than to be commercial and sell paintings. Money is simply to shop for a time.” The artist lives and works in Dubai, UAE. Sacha Jafri’s record-breaking painting, ‘The Journey <strong>of</strong> Humanity’, now described as ‘The Modern- Day Sistine Chapel’, is part <strong>of</strong> his charitable initiative ‘Humanity Inspired’. Supported by over 100 A-list celebrities, it was launched under the patronage <strong>of</strong> His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Cabinet Member, Minister <strong>of</strong> Tolerance and Coexistence in partnership with Dubai Cares, part <strong>of</strong> the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives and Atlantis, The Palm. Considered the largest worldwide social, artistic and philanthropic initiative in history, the painting was created in Atlantis, the Palm’s ballroom, which was converted into the artist’s studio, where Sacha spent a period <strong>of</strong> 28 weeks from <strong>March</strong> to September 2020 during the lockdown. When asked ‘what does art mean to you?’ he said, “I strongly believe that art resembles one’s inner feelings, expressing them the way one wants to express. A lot <strong>of</strong> people may not understand it but it may have another sentimental feeling for the person who created it especially when it comes to a painting like, ‘The Journey <strong>of</strong> Humanity’ that touches upon children, humanity, and universal outreach. Coming from a country that has been through 3 lockdowns, and has been famous for commerce and tourism, our leadership, the government, the private and health sector played a big role, having the best safety measures in the world on how to manage the virus, and having all <strong>of</strong> that on one side and hopefully having the government to look at the side on how can we get back commerce and tourism, the initiative pops up saying, the money from the auctions and the paintings are not going to the countries or him. But will go to global platforms and UN initiatives that will set a new benchmark. Education will not be distributed.” ‘What Inspired you to take up the journey’ he said to his teammates, “I am in lockdown and devastated, and we are blessed with a country that has a good system and measures on how to convert normal schooling to remote learning, but what about the other children’s who are not equally blessed.” He had the social purpose but didn’t have the delivery vehicle to give a source to his vision. So, they would plug him into the global platforms and UN platforms, and make a framework on how to avoid any future disruption on education. He came from a whole different angle. Fundraising and resource making was done a lot but no one was doing it through culture and art, and he is popping up from the sector and saying that “I am just a global citizen trying to make a change”. When asked whether he had any special message towards the art sector in the world, his message to the fellow artists was that anything works by focusing on art and culture. Take your dreams and believe in your vision <strong>of</strong> what you want to achieve. It will happen. But most importantly have a vision and believe in it. And get the right partners.” From February to May <strong>2021</strong>, selected pieces from ‘The Journey <strong>of</strong> Humanity’, along with Jafri’s much celebrated ‘18yr Retrospective Collection’ will be on show at the largest gallery in the UAE, the Leila Heller Gallery, which is located in Alserkal Avenue, Dubai. He truly defines the quote, ‘Be the change you want to see.’ - press@magzoid.com <strong>March</strong> <strong>2021</strong> www.magzoid.com 43