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Weighed Down By an Uplift

Weighed Down by an Uplift comprises a series of sculptures accompanied by their digital renderings on videos. In this installation, Aki Hassan attempts to translate sculptures into digital objects in response to the sharp shift towards digital formats in the arts triggered by the pandemic.

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nationalgallery.sg

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Being Strong For You / Closeted

Being Strong For You/Closeted was exhibited at the “Like A Biennale” exhibition at Civic House, organised by Year 4 SEA students in January 2020. It is a sculptural installation informed by my experiences of needing and giving support to those we do not find solidarity in. This is explored through balancing metal structures and objects together, reflecting on the insecurity of imbalanced relationships. This particular work was an important point for me, as I began to explore ways of using installation to reflect on the labour of non-binary people. Most of us find ourselves attempting to survive under cis-normative conditions, for the comfort of cis people. I use sculpture as a tool to pick out these nuances and clarify what compromises are made.

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Encountering material and object, reflecting on support systems

I did a day residency at Pig Rock Bothy, located on the grounds of Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, in November 2019. In this residency, I wanted to explore how objects support objects — looking at how objects rely on one another / make use of one another. This was when I realised that I am able to use sculpture as way to explore the nature of (queer) friendships ... 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘷𝘶𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦. I bended some metal structures. They were carefully placed around the site of Pig Rock Bothy, slotted into cracks and holes. I blew balloons within the metal structures. In each iteration, the objects suggests different types of relationships. I am interested in the way they trust and care for one another, the way they hold onto each other. Some are heavily reliant whilst others could exist independently. Some suffocate one another. structures need structures need structures need structures. can objects be fully autonomous?

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Aki Hassan is a transdisciplinary artist who thinks and works through text, drawing, printed matter and sculpture. They are invested in how forms, materialities and objects encounter one another in both concrete and metaphorical terms, and how personalities are revealed, surfacing paradoxes and unexpected detail. This feeds into their interest in carefully arranged installations, exploring interrelations and resonance. They see this process as a tool to reflect on their support systems; to locate strength, shifts and imbalances in the exchange.

Aki Hassan graduated from Glasgow School of Art. They have taken part in both local and international exhibitions, such as An Exercise of Meaning in A Glitch Season (National Gallery Singapore, 2020), Pig Rock Bothy Residency & Exhibition (Scottish Gallery of Modern Art, 2019) and SCOUT: Emerging Art Practice, Singapore (Gillman Barracks, 2015). They are a co-founder of a small distro-press, known as Power Couple Press, which primarily works with comic, zine and illustration artists based in Glasgow and Singapore (powercouple.press). Through this, they have been platformed at various book & art festivals across the UK, such as Glasgow Zine Fair (GZF), East London Comic Art Festival (ELCAF) and Edinburgh Comic Art Festival (ECAF).