This is Personal

Memories are impossible to recall in their entirety, yet their fragmented emergence and disappearance shape our perception and way of thinking in the present. Hamdan Buti Al Shamsi resorted to collage as a way of exploring how the nostalgic ephemeralities of the past are shaping who we are; how pieces of personhood can come together to create intriguing debates about what we know about ourselves, what we decide to show and what others see. In the past, the form of communication between people was limited to writing and letters. Envelopes used to be packed with emotions in the form of text and markings. Today, they are mainly used for junk mail, bank statements, notifications and bills. Through this series, he depicts these emotions through a random form of collage taken from newspapers and magazines – a magical word coming to life, pouring out of envelopes. (Commissioned by Tashkeel)