Houda Terjuman
Artist Houda Terjuman looks to nature to convey the emotions behind the idea of identity and to relay the notion of displacement. Trees in her work are symbols of being and feeling uprooted. The tree’s roots act as a metaphor for one's own roots that we are bound to, with the different tree branches seeming to represent different cultures or identities we absorb throughout our life or belong to.
Terjuman's sculptural trees are often placed floating in space, feeling uncertain where to land, pondering where their branches, one’s hybrid roots will feel at home, or searching for stability from conflict, political or personal turmoil.
The artist also depicts objects to link these feelings and notions to the home.
For instance, a boat refers to the journey of being uprooted or a space that inhabits feelings between two or more different places. Furniture are items people tend to leave behind yet feel a connection to. The items act as a bridge to the subject, and a link between spirituality and materialism. Are we attached to nature, to a land, a culture or to our objects? Or do our objects represent a culture, land, and therefore we are attached to them? Perhaps both notions. Inevitably rendering both object and nature, spirituality and daily life connected.
There is a tenderness in Houda Terjuman's work and a serene poetic feeling in her art amongst the strong impact and deep subject matters of her work.
She has exhibited her art around the world including at Casa arabe Madrid, Spain, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France, Galerie Siniya 28 Marrakech Morocco, Lawrence-arnott gallery Tanger, Morocco, Courtyard gallery Dubaï, UAE, the Aga Khan Museum, the Primae Noctis Art Gallery and many other art galleries and spaces.
We've posted some of her beautiful art here, click on each image to expand them for details and the profound artwork and their titles. See more of Houda Terjuman's work on these links: