Guest blog by Sima Hosseini

The hands that look through the eyes, the hands that can paint the sound of the heart, become painters.  The painter observes all the naked figures that pass through his mind along with the commotion in his brain and moves his pen so that all the lines and all the colours are released, he pulls his paintings out of the prison of his mind so that they can be seen and be heard  And be the beginning of a liberation.

I am an immigrant with 2500 years of material culture.  I come from the land of the Kurds, from where you can see the reflection of the colours of nature in the beautiful clothes of the women of my land and hear beautiful songs from the melodious instruments of my land.  We are all on the same planet, we have the same sun and we sing about the beauty of a moon, but I am an immigrant, I left my land to get my basic rights and I have carried my children on my shoulders to bring them to freedom.  I am an immigrant, from my heart, from my mind, I have left a part of my life in the lawns and flower beds of my land.  I have moved from one land to another.  In my land there was no sea, but it was full of mountains.  You can hear the sound of the sea when it hits the shore, and the sound of the mountain when the wind blows in the mountain.

My heart laments the distance from the mountains of my land and my brain is happy to reach safety and freedom.  It is a duality, moving away and moving away again and reaching silence.   My hands became painters.  Drawing a picture of a girl whose hair is left in the beach breeze, dreams of hearing the sound of the wind among the mountains and dense trees in her land.  Drawing pictures of immigrants who must have big steps.  As big as the distance between the countries and the seas that pass through them.  And as small as the steps of a child who wants to be in step with the steps of his parents.  This is the beginning.

I am an immigrant.  I will be reborn with a new address without my mother’s embrace. I will be reborn without the sound of my childish cry.  There are no hands to embrace me.  I hug myself like my mother.  I will be strong like the mountains of my land.  Step by step I will build again and find again.  I am a free woman, I will leave my hair in the wind and I will sing the beautiful song of freedom on my lips that I am a woman, a free woman.
For Refugee Week Malta 2024, Maltese producers Dance Beyond Borders reached out to Artist Sima Hosseini to collaborate on an illustration inspired by Refugee Week’s theme ‘Our Home.’ Sima, originally from Iran who has sought safety in Malta, humbly invites us to immerse ourselves in her dual worlds – the resonance of her Iranian heritage entwined with the warmth of her current sanctuary, Marsascala.

At the heart of bringing Sima’s vision to life on the digital canvas is Kriss from Pocket Sandwich Studio. With her skillful expertise in artistic illustration, Kriss delicately translated Sima’s analog watercolors into a digital medium, resulting in a final piece that harmoniously merges digital and fine art. This collaborative endeavor speaks to the power of intercultural teamwork, embracing a surrealist aesthetic that reflects the beauty of defying creative constraints and fostering experimentation, exploration, and spontaneity.

Together, their efforts have yielded an evocative creation, inviting viewers to reflect on their own interpretations of home and belonging. 

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