HASHTI
I created this artwork during my time in isolation in the United States, after immigrating to Gainesville, Florida. I found myself alone, surrounded by an overwhelming amount of official visa paperwork. I was looking for a way to connect myself to the new society. I could speak English, but not well enough to connect deeply with people. I was searching for a language to connect with others—a form of communication like tally marks, which allow counting without knowing a spoken language—a sort of connecting language.
Hashti is an interactive installation combined with a board game—the medium I chose to present my documentary photographs—a space where form, scale, and sensory experience converge. The juxtaposition of tiles serves as an element that connects what may initially appear separate. My research explores symbols, taboos, and communication through play, particularly inspired by Surrealist artists. Symbols, as hidden social contracts, act as silent teachers that shape our physical world.
This work is an interactive installation that viewers can touch and engage with according to a set of instructions. Each octagonal piece is made from mat material and features visual patterns inspired by drone perspectives of contemporary battlefields around the world. In this way, I bring two perspectives of conflict—ancient and modern—into dialogue and contrast.
Geometry serves as a metaphor for logic, while the octagonal forms reference spaces of communication in Middle Eastern houses. The tiles also contain images related to cultural taboos from various societies. This installation functions as a metaphor for modern conflict; it raises questions for the audience and reminds them of what has been lost through technological advancement.
In the exhibition, each viewer receives a sheet of instructions, which serves as the rules of the game. Participants are invited to pick up the tiles and interact with one another through play.
My work attempts to construct a world that the viewer recognizes as artificial, yet one that still allows space for personal interpretation and response. The installations reflect alternative forms of communication with what is perceived as “natural.” The imagery presents a symbolic world—a shared language between myself and the viewer—a language of phenomena that are expected, yet ultimately beyond control.
The board game element, inspired by Surrealist traditions, is used to challenge social conventions, similar to how games function in the works of Marcel Duchamp and Guy Debord. In my work, rules become metaphors for both simple social agreements and more complex systems such as religion, trade structures, and diplomatic negotiations.
Through these rules, I guide viewers to reflect on their own patterns of compliance in everyday life. Ultimately, the central element of this installation lies in the very rules I impose on its participants.
www.hashtigame.com
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