A Wake of Saffron Lights
A Wake of Saffron Lights presents “Poetic Limbo,” the latest series by Afghan-born, Bandung-based artist Nesar Eesar. Through paintings inspired by the Herat school of miniature painting that flourished since the 15th century in western Afghanistan, Nesar reflects on the present-day country, which he views as existing in a realm of in-betweens: peace and tension, homecoming and displacement, gain and loss. A realm in limbo. Pondering that state of uncertainty, Eesar’s works now embrace greater abstraction. Eesar’s broad palette knife sweeps that fill the canvases mark a gentle, formal departure from his earlier works, which often situate figures in undulating landscapes. Our attention is now equally drawn into the delicate symbols that serve as the essential building blocks of his paintings: golden flames, calligraphic poems, pomegranates to saffrons, all of which mark a deeply embedded identity and signify spiritual purity, yet constantly disturbed by conflicts. At the center of this exhibition space is an installation which simulates refugee tents lining rugs inside. In Afghan and wider regional weaving traditions, hand-knotted rugs represent deep heritage, family labor, hospitality, and storytelling. Yet the intricate beauty of the rugs in this work is wounded, as figures are being cut and ornaments displaced. The work speaks of the country as a homeland which welcomes and lets go of its children, while punctuating a state of temporariness. “Poetic Limbo” series is a hymn for the restless. Eesar asks what remains of home when geography is severed, offering a striking meditation on displacement, memory, and the enduring grace of Afghan heritage. Echoing across a vast distance, his works map the path of those stranded in-between as they search through the dark, longing for a wake of saffron lights.
