The LAB 4.2: Farheen HaQ Breathing Space
July 30, 2004 - July 30, 2004Farheen HaQ explores the notion of religious freedom of expression within a secular society through a video and photo installation which examines the spiritual and sacred in public spaces.
HaQ performs simple actions that are either religious or culturally coded, introducing subtle changes that push the gesture beyond its normal expression. Within the video projection, HaQ focuses attention on the reconsideration of a simple gesture by slowing down and repeating movements to emphasize and recontextualize their inscribed meaning. Through a series of photoworks, HaQ uses the cityscape as a site and/or backdrop for her gestural interpretations.
HaQ?s work is at once a reclaiming of her own cultural practices as a Muslim woman and an investigation into how private gestures can dramatically change the anonymity and controlled nature of public space.