Zafar Iqbal has a unique take on first impressions
First impressions may not be entirely true because the person you are meeting, by chance or arrangement, is aware that this is an opportunity to deliver a calculated impression that influences you to decide in their favor. A simple reason to conceal the potentially problematic (unfavorable) and reveal the best-forged (favorable) self-projection.
Zafar Iqbal presents his findings in the form of visuals; the colors are picked from a wide spectrum based on his deductions as to whether the presented behavior and language were a success or a failure. New connections are often prepared and planned, as Zafar notices, pre-determined courses for upcoming conversations. For humans, there is poison and there is an antidote; they know who they are and what they want. And so, in front of every person in this world, is a button, that they can press to create (or attempt to create) a selected version of reality about themselves, which may (or may not) lead to desired outcomes. One may call it despicable but for the person pressing the button, it is more about their reach for the (yet) not promised.
Zafar translates sensations into streams of light; shades and hues are abandoned souls and unrestricted principles. In the end, we see what we are shown and (or) what we want to see. In Zafar’s findings of the world, identity is circumstantial and reality is subjective. To establish our link to a person, we choose from their many sides, and it is a choice made in moments. Zafar explores this curious phenomenon, understanding combinations of consciousness in a single persona and making sense of it in colors and contours. His practice tells us that choosing between versions of reality is a skill that gets better with life experience.
Image: I can not breathe, Zafar Iqbal, all copyrights retained by the artist 2023.
