Farha Najah Hussain

Connection, Communication, & Creativity, 2023
Digital Photographic Collage, felt tip marker, Urdu calligraphy, 4 x 6 in. (original)

This art piece is rooted in visual reflections about my body, its marginalized experiences navigating our world at the intersections of racialization, queerness, chronic conditions, and hope for a more just and joyful world.

I use photography during daylight as my primary medium to implement this hopeful lens. I focus on connection, communication, and creativity within us and nature as a means to breathe towards climate and social justice change.

My ammi (mother) suggested I use Raabta while connecting with her around this creative piece as we discussed Urdu words and calligraphy that convey a sense of meaningful and deep connection.

Farha Najah Hussain I am a Queer second generation Pakistani-Indian immigrant-settler from Tiohtia:ke (Montreal, Canada), unceeded Indigenous territories, and now living on Mana-hatta, the traditional homeland of a variety of Lenape Peoples, past, present, and future. I am trained as a speech-language pathologist (SLP) and I am currently a third year PhD student and candidate in the Rehabilitation Sciences Program. I aim to integrate critical and equity focused arts-based research in communication sciences.

Farha's art engages with self-empowerment and collective solidarity in the face of systemic oppression. She aims to carve out, create, imagine contribute to, and reclaim spaces with intersectional feminist, decolonial, disability justice, and queer politics using visual and calligraphic art.