ARTIST BIO
Asif Bhalesha is a self-taught photographer born in Mwanza, Tanzania. Over the years, Asif has endeavored to become proficient with various aspects of photography including lighting, film processing, printing and more recently with digital. His work has been published in various newspapers, magazines and digital publications. The diversity of his portfolio ranges across architecture, wildlife, weddings and portraiture. Asif is an award-winning photographer who has had the privilege of covering various high profile local and international events. In 2008, Asif was selected to travel to various parts of the globe to photograph various Aga Khan Development Network projects and Muslim heritage sites as part of the Heritage Discovery Programme (HDP). Since then, he has photographed the Times of India Film Awards (TOIFA) in 2013, the Canadian Ismaili Games in 2015 which led to a photo feature on the cover of Ismaili Canada Magazine, composer sibling duo Salim-Sulaiman concerts both in 2015 and 2016, Golden Jubilee Games in Dubai in 2016, International Jubilee Arts Festival in Lisbon in 2018 and various events covering His Highness the Aga Khan and his family.
www.asifbhalesha.com
Instagram: @asifbhalesha
ARTWORK DESCRIPTION
Photography
The mirrored ziggurat spiral introduces a modern view of an ancient design - a nod to the helical structure of deoxyribonucleic acid - the biochemical architecture of life itself. The prisms’ spectrum of colour reveals light in its pluralistic form, capturing the virtually infinite diversity of the universe. The backdrop is reminiscent of the endless space-time continuum, emoting a feeling of vast expansion and transcendence of collective human consciousness towards the Supreme Being. The artist uses the piece to explore the theme of “faith and spirituality”. The ethereal display of colour reminds us that we ascend to heaven as unique, spiritual beings, divinely connected by an almighty universal power greater than ourselves. Through self-reflection, the artist symbolically conveys the divinity emanating from within, and that we are a collective, simply passing through time, with the hopes that what we create will be timeless.
