ARTIST STATEMENT

In her latest series of explorations, Jana Ghalayini has been particularly interested in how we shape our own perception of the world around us. The Storm Before A Groove considers the relationship between the pace of our internal world and our measurement of external factors while approaching time.

Through her installation work, she questions how a space can be both limiting and liberating, depending on how we choose to interact with it. Her work is often manifested through intuitive weaving, with an experimental mixed-media approach. While weaving, the playful spontaneous rhythm of color and material represents a shift in perspective and a willingness to embrace change. They also signify the transformation of the object in question. In this instance the woven installation. Made up of new yarns and repurposed older works, the layering of material and process is symbolic of a layering of the multiplicities of an experience and a search to capture expression through texture. To accompany the woven structure, an audio installation by Patrick Perez is presented that is composed of pre-recorded sounds of her floor loom in her studio. The audio is manipulated as abstract melodies that reflect past marks of the tapestry and can be considered as sounds of inner and outer time.

Ghalayini invites the viewer to join her on a journey of discovery and self-exploration. Whether experimenting with freestyle weaving techniques or exploring the marriage between color and form, the intention is to create work that is not only visually striking but also deeply resonant on a personal and emotional level. The afterlife of her work allows for reflection, where layers carry meaning for every viewer, expressing multiple lives, and a place where the witness can take part in the record of these memories.

By working with her hands, she is working with time, and with every mark, there is an indication that a certain amount of time has passed. While she records the gestures and marks, she is documenting the memory of the work, its proof of creation, the transient moment which grounds the practice in the record, and herself in existence.

The proof of creation is proof of existence.

Jana Ghalayini is a process multimedia artist based in Toronto, Canada. Ghalayini is a BFA graduate from OCAD University. With a focus on intuitive weaving and abstract mixed-media painting, Ghalayini is interested in repetition and markmaking as ritual. Ghalayini is consistently investigating the duality between materials and fragmentation while working and building up layers in her practice as a way to document gestures of memory and experience. Through this work she is curious to understand consciousness through immediacy and mindfulness. Ghalayini has exhibited both locally and internationally in places such as TIFF Bell Lightbox, Toronto, (2022), Hafez Gallery, Jeddah (2020), Art Dubai, Dubai (2019), Shubbak Festival, London, UK (2017) and Art Toronto, Toronto (2017).


Union Gallery thanks the Provost's Advisory Committee on the Promotion of the Arts at Queen's University for supporting A Storm Before The Groove and affiliated programming through the George Taylor Richardson Memorial Fund.