Visual offerings wat ver veby tyd en plek strek

In gesprek met Haneem Christian

Daa is min artists met wie se wêk ek click. Maa Haneem Christian, visual poet en activist wat in Grassy Parks, Kaapstad grootgewôd het, humble my as skrywer met die interview. Ek voel altyd woore veloo waare. Ôs ammel ken daai gevoel van niks woore het nie. Jy wiet wat jy wil sê, maa die feit dat language nog soe ’n barrier of expression is, maak dit soms moeilik. Haneem het nie daai problem nie. Net soes ek unspoken topics in my gemeenskap document, oppie vloer gooi en ’n vrye wêreld op papier skep, doen Haneem dit alles deu haa lens. En soe effortlessly. 

Haneem is ’n creative director en analogue photographer wat in haa wêk fokus op die representation vannie Black en Brown LGBTQIA+ gemeenskap. Sy het al met groot name soes Nike, Adidas en CNN gewêk en sy is oek die creative director van die fotoreeks, The Memorial Ball, waa’in die legacy va Kirvan Fortuin, late mother van House of Le Cap, ge-document is. Met ’n agtergrond in gender studies en environmental en geographical sciences beeld Haneem in haa visual poetry ’n striking verhouding yt tussen haa subjects en die omgewings waarin hulle gedokumenteer wôd. 

Haneem is plain en simple net ’n gift. Here’s why…

VERONIQUE: Haneem, jy isse force in jou eie reg en jy hettie ability om subtly major moves te maak. Was jy van kleins af soe eiewys en reg virrie ding of was jy maa bietjie deurmekaa soesie res van ôs?

HANEEM: As a child I was always calm, observant and in my own world. I was always deep within my imagination, constantly daydreaming and I guess in that way I was a bietjie deurmekaa because I guess I was never doing things the way people would expect me to do it, I would always do things in my own time and in my own way. 

VERONIQUE: Hoe was jou kinnerjare en onthou jy jou eeste encounter met photography?

HANEEM: Photography was always present in my life. My parents used to always take photographs of my brother and I and document special moments. That was my first experience – the idea of remembering a moment through photography. It was always used as a tool to capture and to remember joy, it was really beautiful. I would have never thought that photography would one day become my weapon of choice though, because, as Coloured people, we are often only offered certain realities to imagine ourselves and our lives in.

VERONIQUE: Wat wassie “poof” moment waa jy gewiet het dié medium is vi jou?

HANEEM: It was actually during Fees Must Fall. One day one of the main members of the trans collective delivered a speech that was really moving and honestly really changed my life. I remember thinking that the magnitude of this moment and story will never be told the way I was experiencing it. I guess it hit me that the telling of a story was also very much reliant on who is telling the story – perspective. It was at this moment that I came to understand that it was part of my duty to offer a space through my lens for Black and Brown queer and trans people to speak their truth, whatever it might be. Whether it is centred in: joy, pain, remembrance or celebration.

VERONIQUE: Was gender studies en environmental en geographical sciences altyd jou eeste keuse of het iets along the way vi jou gespark in daai rigting?

HANEEM: I was always interested in the relationship between humans and the ways we interact with our environment; the things that influence the access we have to interact with our environment such as our race, gender, sexuality, etc. So the EGS and gender studies combo really gave me the language to engage with these things. As a non-binary, queer, Coloured person I was always aware of the way history affected the ways I could exist in this time and space. I was particularly interested in spatial apartheid and also the ways in which queer people were erased from the telling of the apartheid struggle.

VERONIQUE: Jou akademiese agtergrond is ’n interesting combination virre visual artist. Hoe combine jy die twie met mekaa?

HANEEM: I guess EGS and photography seem like they’re worlds apart from each other but honestly EGS brought me much closer to my understanding of my purpose and how to make it a reality through photography. EGS showed me that perspective was important. In some papers we’d read and analyse what some writers would understand as “development” and “upscaling” and I would understand as gentrification, and to see the other side of it which results in displacement and erasure. This brought me back to the idea that the telling of history truly relied on who is telling the story and whose story gets told. 

VERONIQUE: Wat wassie beginpunt van jou activism deurie visual medium? Het jou immediate surroundings ’n rol gespeel innie besluit en hettie mengelmoes van flavours rondom jou, jou wêk beïnvloed?

HANEEM: Again, I think Fees Must Fall really catalysed a lot in my spirit. I realised that language can and has often kept people of similar intersections apart but visual art knows no bounds, no restraints. It exists beyond the boundaries and binaries that are inherent in the English language. Visual art feels like an offering beyond this time and space to me. It feels like a form of communication and conversation that cannot happen in any other form. I think the things that I choose to speak about have been intellectualised so much but visual art simplifies it all for me. It makes the message simple and easier to translate from one person to another. Visual art offers me a vocabulary that is unrestricted so it makes it easier to engage in the politics of identity across different barriers.

“I realised that language can and has often kept people of similar intersections apart but visual art knows no bounds, no restraints. It exists beyond the boundaries and binaries that are inherent in the English language.”

— Haneem Christian

VERONIQUE: Jou visual poetry is vannie mees thought-provoking forms of art wat ek in ’n lang tyd gesien het. Wassie intention met jou visual poetry ommie Brown en Black trans en queer bodies se existence te document of om soeveel moontlik van hulle storie in ’n shot/frame te capture?

HANEEM: The intention with my work is very much layered. Over the years I have found that the stories of Black and Brown queer and trans people are always pain centred. We are never documented for our excellence and a big part of my work is to remember the pain while celebrating our existence. It is a reminder that we are more than just our pain and to show younger people like us that they have not only always existed but also that our communities hold so much abundance and joy. 

My work acts as an archive of some sort. One which I hope will spark the genetic memory of those who come across my work to remember our ancestors with similar intersections as us, who might have been erased out of the telling of history. For me, as a queer Muslim person, it was difficult to find roots in my culture because much of the telling of Islam was shifted and tainted by man and in doing so we lost the beauty of the religion. In seeking and finding others like me who existed years before I did, it showed me that I need to actively be archiving my reality and those I am proximate to, so that future generations can root themselves in knowing that they are valid and that they don’t have to seek the way I had to.

“For me, as a queer Muslim person, it was difficult to find roots in my culture because much of the telling of Islam was shifted and tainted by man... we lost the beauty of the religion. In seeking and finding others like me who existed years before I did, it showed me that I need to actively be archiving my reality and those I am proximate to, so that future generations can root themselves in knowing that they are valid and that they don’t have to seek the way I had to.”

— Haneem Christian

I think I could never really tell someone’s full story in one image, nor would I want to. But I think the beauty of photography is that it is a language that is unbound, which means that there might be infinite stories in one image, everyone who views the image might see something different. And I think that’s really special. 

Most importantly, I make the work I do so that the people I work with and the people who identify with the work, feel seen by it. I always say that my practice has nothing to do with photography really. My intention is just to create a world within this world where people who exist on the margins of society can feel seen and celebrated. 

VERONIQUE: Die wêk wat jy voo’sit is bold en expressive en demanding. Is jy naturally drawn narie rebels en soortvan na die Other, dié wat society wil hê moet conform?

HANEEM: Most definitely. I think because I am someone who has always been “othered” in my life, I’ve come to realise that society is just afraid of that which makes us special. We are beings who cannot be bound to society’s expectations and I find that embracing those parts of myself has brought me so much closer to God. I’ve always been drawn to people like me, those who live their truth, no matter what their truth might be, without or beyond fear. 

VERONIQUE: Wat is jou creative process? Kô die inspirasie eeste deu ’n event of social issue of kies jy ’n theme en begin daavanaf wêk?

HANEEM: I think my process varies. Sometimes I’m inspired by something that is painful and I sit with it until it transforms from feeling into visual. Sometimes I am inspired by the person I am working with and instead of having my own vision I offer them the space to create as freely as they desire, and to use my tool as a vessel to speak their truth. Sometimes there are stories that I need to get out of my head and create them in visual art.

VERONIQUE: Die wêk wat jy gedoen het met The Memorial Ball wat die liewe vannie late Kirvan Fortuin vier, het ’n groot impak gehad en slaan steeds mense se asem weg. Is daai iets wat jou sal interest — om ’n liggaam van wêk voor te sit waarin die focus oppie liewe van ’n spesifieke individual en hulle legacy val?

HANEEM: The Memorial Ball will forever be one of the most meaningful pieces I have ever created. Kirvan’s life has and will continue to inspire generations and it was important for us to remember them with joy and celebration, beyond just the tragedy of their death.

I’m definitely interested in documenting the legacy of those around and those I’m inspired by in order to continue their story and their purpose. I don’t think my storytelling will ever be bound to just one person but I will most definitely commit my practice to documenting and telling the stories of those who are living and have lived a life that paved the way for many others. 

VERONIQUE: Watter local artists inspire jou en hoekô?

HANEEM: I’m really inspired by so many people. I’m inspired by Chester Martinez, one of my chosen family. Chester is one of the most fearless and honest people I have ever met. They are always true to themselves in their embodiment and practice and that’s something I really admire. I’m super inspired by Githan Coopoo who is a ceramic jewellery artist and stylist, but beyond that they are one of the most radiant lightbeings. I find that true, genuine kindness is so hard to come across these days, and to see someone embody such unconditional love just in who they are and in their art is so special. I’m also really inspired by Shakil Solanki. Shakil is a fine artist whose style is absolutely unmatched. I’ve never really met anyone like Shakil nor have I ever really seen paintings like theirs that makes me feel so much so deeply. 

“Hierdie foto capture alles wat ek eintlik probee sê en wie en wat ôs mense is.” – Veronique Jephtas

VERONIQUE: Innie content wat jy post op Instagram is daa vi my iets fascinating rondommie oë van allie bodies wat jy capture. Ek dink dis fucking incredible. As jy photos vat, bly jy innie parameters vannie concept of is daa ’n freedom of expression wat inkô vannie talent oppie vloer se kant af? 

HANEEM: I always leave room for the process to unfold for itself. It’s very rare that I go into a creation process with an idea of what I’d like the final image to look like. I’m never inspired by an aesthetic but rather by a feeling so I allow that feeling to manifest however it feels right in the moment. I always offer the person I’m working with the room to express and explore themselves in that moment because I feel like that’s how one makes honest and truthful work. I think that’s what makes my work special, it’s honest. 

VERONIQUE: Jy en jou broe, Imraan Christian, is albei visual poets en activists en het albei grootgewôd in ’n wildy creative hys en space. Sal jy kans sien om eendag ’n volle exibition saam met hom an te pak? 

HANEEM: Inshallah one day. I think even though we have chosen the same medium of expression, our work speaks to very different things but the common thread is that we both choose to speak our truths. I think one day an exhibition together would be really special.

VERONIQUE: Hoe hou jy deesdae kop innie bedryf waarin jy is? Wat is dinge wat jy doen of op fokus om jou mentally sane te hou in ’n tyd waa dit maklik is om jou varkies te veloo?

HANEEM: Yoh staying head above water in this time and space can be such a challenge. I’m a lone wolf by nature so when I feel myself slip into the shadows I try my best to prioritise alone time to realign myself and come back to my centre. Visiting the ocean is super important to me. It’s a space where I can release my burdens, cry and let go but also a place where I can give thanks.

VERONIQUE: Wat is volgenne vi Haneem?

HANEEM: I have absolutely no idea. And a year ago I would not have had the courage and fearlessness to accept that. I’m someone who likes to plan everything. But I’m in a space in my life where I’m in full acceptance that God will make the way as long as I have faith that I am exactly where I need to be and surrender to the fact that I am not in control, but rather that I need to stay focused on what my purpose is and follow that feeling.

VERONIQUE: Wat hoep jy vat iemand weg wanneer hulle na jou wêk kyk?

HANEEM: I hope that whoever identifies with my work feels seen and loved through my work. I hope that they feel like they are valuable and worthy of praise.