Photographer Research - Idris Khan

Idris Khan

Idris Khan is a British artist based in London. Khan's work draws from a range of cultural sources such as literature, history, art and religion to create densely layered images.
Khan's work inspires a more abstract interpretation of writing with his layering of writing in different languages and contexts, having the words create something else rather than words, such as patterns.

Photo One

This piece presents a repeat of prints of various sentences in English and what I can assume is Arabic, layered over each other. From the angle the writing is presented, it appears as if the words are falling or dripping down the paper, this also supported by the fact the words are more bunched at the top of the photo and begin to separate more the lower you go, similar to water. The Arabic writing is printed just below the English writing each time, slightly overlapping it; this can suggest that the Arabic writing is the translated English sentences, this could bring a message of cultural or religious differences. The link between languages can create a political message with recent politics over cultures, and depending on what the actual text is, it could create more of a direct message. The text printed could be bible extracts, creating religious connotations, could be an article or story, or potentially just random text; nonetheless, the actual words should show more significance to the photo.

Photo Two

This piece presents chalk scribbled onto a blackboard, with a mild blur to the photo. The chalk overs majority of the board, leaving no specific focal point, the markings layered over each other repeatedly, similar to his over pieces. Some of the markings, mainly at the top, appear similar to writing, the bottom being messier, this could convey frustration within someone, as if they were writing on the board, and began to get frustrated with what they were writing, maybe it being work, and they let out the frustration by scribbling on the board. The mild blur on the photo could suggest the exposure, possibly shutter speed is set low, having the camera capture more light and distorting the focus, or this photo is double exposed, meaning two photos are layered on top of each other, the one on top revealing the other one slightly, merging the photos together. 

Photo Three

This piece presents what looks like a splash of blue, which is created by layered prints of words and sentences. This is a more abstract way of presenting writing since the writing isn't directly presented unless closely looked at. The different colours, lengths/sizes and opacities creates a detailed texture to the shape, with it being darker in colour in the middle this makes it seem deeper in depth, like an optical illusion. The words used are obviously not clear, but depending on what is used, there could be a link between the shape made and colour with the words, making the potential message and link more direct. The use of colour and shape suggests water, the presentation appears rather aggressive though, due to the sharp lining at the ends of the shape and how widely spread the marks are.

Photo Four

This piece is of a book, presenting layered Arabic writing with a heavy blur. This photo seems to be made with a low shutter speed setting, and potentially the pages being flicked through, so the pages are all captured together in one position, creating the layered appearance. That or double is exposure used, where multiple photos or assumably each page is placed over each other and revealed by lowering the opacity of the layers that are over others. The contrast/tone is heavy in this photo, with the centre deeply shadowed and layered areas revealing different tones, creating a more textured appearance. The writing has no English this time, only Arabic it seems, this book could have religious importance, creating a cultural message potentially since Khan is British.

Overall…

I believe Khan's work is a brilliant way of interpreting the topic writing, his abstract style gives less fluidity to interpretation compared to Hellebrand's work, the message is more direct with Khan's print, there's more suggestion. He allows words to create more than just their definitions, giving them more meaning and purpose for us to see, by having them create shapes and images.
I believe Khan's work will inspire me to create less direct presentations of writing and will have me further my creativity in how I want to use words in my work.