Artist Statement: Amir Ali
My drawings came into existence during my thirty-one months of detention in a non-criminal immigration detention facility. When incarcerated, it is a good idea to find ways to keep the mind busy; therefore, I kept my mind busy by drawing.
On any given day, I was spending approximately six to eight hours facilitating the process of THE ink devouring the paper. The lack of basic drawing materials did not create a hindrance for my creative spirit: I made use of whatever I came across that could be used to make a mark on a piece of paper.
In confinement, the right to do things in one’s own way is becomes very limited. You are told what to do, when to do it, and even the way it must be done. You are told when to eat, when to sleep, and when to wake up. For me, spending my time drawing came as a sanity saver. While drawing, every stroke of the pen, every dot I made, every line that resulted in shapes, sizes, depths, and dimensions became a conscious expression of a decision that I made, not someone else.
My lines and dots constantly enhanced my awareness that I was making decisions that were mine, and nobody else had any control on them. This exercise in psychological self-conditioning aided me in preserving my sanity. So, I made a conscious effort to exercise that part of the brain (prefrontal region supports reasoning and decision-making) with each line I drew.
One time security guard asked me about a particular drawing I was working on. He asked, what does it mean? I told him I was working on an escape plan. All hell broke loose! I was hauled before his superiors to explain what I meant by an escape plan. Finally, I was able to convince them that my statement to the security guard did not refer to an actual physical escape plan, but a psychological mental escape plan, which helped me to keep my sanity while incarcerated.
I explained to them what happened when I closed my eyes: Isolated time in space began. The inexplicable force that pushes and pulls shapes from my head, connecting dots to dots, line to lines, shapes of all sizes to other shapes; from these, depths, and dimensions came forward. It is with this creative energy, that I used shapes and geometry to construct my thoughts, my words in this space and time of imprisonment.
In a way that happens without explanation, an in finite supply of anything is able to come from nothing, and nothing is able to come from something. It does not seem to come from my brain or my imagination, but something greater, something outside of me. Perhaps, it is a universal mind; a mind that is able to answer whatever my imagination can ask. When I access this mind, time and space (as I experience the here in this ordinary reality) does not exist: Each moment becomes an in finite piece of this work of architecture.
When I leave this state and arrive back on this planet, it always seems to be a bit different. It is as if each object has a particular glow to it that can not be explained, only experienced. And generally a new drawing has been placed in front of me.
I believe my explanation did not make any sense to the security guard and his superiors, but my explanation did have the benefi t of getting them to leave me alone.
Finally, I was released from the detention facility. I have tried to draw again, but it brings unpleasant memories. Fortunately during detention, I was able to look at the good and bright side of things. I knew that whatever I was going through was going to become a part of me and going to stay with me for the rest of my life. It was my choice then to associate more of the good memories, energies with my experiences so when a sight, sound, smell, get the sequence triggered, besides bad, sad, memories, there would be ample good and pleasant memories to balance things out. I believe that’s what life is all about. I would classify my drawings as pieces of a conscious mind in influencing deliberative responses to objective materials. While the adaptive unconscious guided responses are made unthinkingly.
Amir Ali
dramirali1@gmail.com
On any given day, I was spending approximately six to eight hours facilitating the process of THE ink devouring the paper. The lack of basic drawing materials did not create a hindrance for my creative spirit: I made use of whatever I came across that could be used to make a mark on a piece of paper.
In confinement, the right to do things in one’s own way is becomes very limited. You are told what to do, when to do it, and even the way it must be done. You are told when to eat, when to sleep, and when to wake up. For me, spending my time drawing came as a sanity saver. While drawing, every stroke of the pen, every dot I made, every line that resulted in shapes, sizes, depths, and dimensions became a conscious expression of a decision that I made, not someone else.
My lines and dots constantly enhanced my awareness that I was making decisions that were mine, and nobody else had any control on them. This exercise in psychological self-conditioning aided me in preserving my sanity. So, I made a conscious effort to exercise that part of the brain (prefrontal region supports reasoning and decision-making) with each line I drew.
One time security guard asked me about a particular drawing I was working on. He asked, what does it mean? I told him I was working on an escape plan. All hell broke loose! I was hauled before his superiors to explain what I meant by an escape plan. Finally, I was able to convince them that my statement to the security guard did not refer to an actual physical escape plan, but a psychological mental escape plan, which helped me to keep my sanity while incarcerated.
I explained to them what happened when I closed my eyes: Isolated time in space began. The inexplicable force that pushes and pulls shapes from my head, connecting dots to dots, line to lines, shapes of all sizes to other shapes; from these, depths, and dimensions came forward. It is with this creative energy, that I used shapes and geometry to construct my thoughts, my words in this space and time of imprisonment.
In a way that happens without explanation, an in finite supply of anything is able to come from nothing, and nothing is able to come from something. It does not seem to come from my brain or my imagination, but something greater, something outside of me. Perhaps, it is a universal mind; a mind that is able to answer whatever my imagination can ask. When I access this mind, time and space (as I experience the here in this ordinary reality) does not exist: Each moment becomes an in finite piece of this work of architecture.
When I leave this state and arrive back on this planet, it always seems to be a bit different. It is as if each object has a particular glow to it that can not be explained, only experienced. And generally a new drawing has been placed in front of me.
I believe my explanation did not make any sense to the security guard and his superiors, but my explanation did have the benefi t of getting them to leave me alone.
Finally, I was released from the detention facility. I have tried to draw again, but it brings unpleasant memories. Fortunately during detention, I was able to look at the good and bright side of things. I knew that whatever I was going through was going to become a part of me and going to stay with me for the rest of my life. It was my choice then to associate more of the good memories, energies with my experiences so when a sight, sound, smell, get the sequence triggered, besides bad, sad, memories, there would be ample good and pleasant memories to balance things out. I believe that’s what life is all about. I would classify my drawings as pieces of a conscious mind in influencing deliberative responses to objective materials. While the adaptive unconscious guided responses are made unthinkingly.
Amir Ali
dramirali1@gmail.com
