Ansari
Sahar Ansari Perez - Printmaker + Illustrator
I have a very famous grand aunt, from my mother's side. Many of you must have heard of her, Zubeida Agha, she was one hell of an artist and a super woman (specially in those times) - She left a wonderful legacy of art, and philosophy for life.
The artist is perpetually doubted for sanity, yes, I agree - I do not have any left either, along with zero marbles to knock about in my head. But, I do love the lifestyle. I am proud to call my self an artist (despite the connotations that come with it), and most of all I want to die known as the craziest, if not greatest printmaker alive.
Printmaking is my life. Any form of printmaking from traditional stone lithography and etchings to modern mixed media type and digital illustrations is my type of printmaking, I cannot call any one particular discipline my favourite. Just that I am a printmaker and I am currently in love with exploring Stone Lithography.
I have now been working with stone lithography for over 5 years. And, one of the most beautiful mark-making that is quintessentially associated with stone lithography is the tusche wash. It is said that to master tusche-washes is to master a major part of stone lithography. The tusche mark leaves behind a similar mark as the water and graphite washes - the water dries slowly in layers, leaving behind the sedimentation, in soft waves, or splash formations - just like recollections and memories…
Sometimes, an event, a thought, an image, a person, comes and makes waves and the mark that is left behind is everywhere, like an intricate loom of stories weaved in and out of different pools. Like tides that recede leaving their interlacing patterns…Tusche marks are like that, they are memories of something wonderful that happened on the stone as the water evaporated with time.
I have been struggling with the medium as much as I am fascinated with the exquisite reticulations it leaves behind. I try to work the marks with graphite and water on the paper and then replicate the idea on the stone… between these two practices, I found my medium. An image that represents the soft urgency of particle movement when the water pools or splashes, and the slow mediation of the graduating marks left behind.
This makes it a perfect fusion of the past and the present, a mark, an impression, a fleeting gesture, beautifully preserved in time.
About my home studio
I live in a place between the sea and the forest, up on a hill surrounded by wild animals and bees. This is where my dream studio is, in the middle of my garden of rescued plants and lush tropical trees.
I hope that one day, you will visit me in my printmaking studio, between the trees and the rustling papers, dripping inks and splattered paints, printing up a storm. Because surely this world needs more and more mad printmakers. There should never be a dearth of madness and insanity if a printmaker is nearby.
In any case, welcome to my art page, where I have tried the bestest best to label, and categorise different art pieces and talk a little about them. If you want to take a piece home, do send me a message and I will try to figure out how anything at all can be shipped out of Rio to you.
And some more...
Sahar Ansari was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, but she was raised in Lahore, Pakistan where she completed her graduation with distinction in Printmaking at NCA in 2000 and picked it up again in 2017 at EAV Parque Lage (till date). The experience of moving between two supposedly different cultures, which actually share vast aspects, brought about a revealing change in her line of thought about life, art and all that lies in between.
Her work has been displayed at several South American print fairs and exhibitions in Brazil, United Kingdom and Pakistan.
She has also established a small printmaking studio ‘Gravuristão’, the name is a combination of Portuguese ‘gravura’ and Urdu ‘istan’ meaning Printmaking Land. It currently boasts of having an antique etching press, a lithography press and several small other presses along with a very extensive printmaking based library. The studio offers intaglio, relief and planography facilities as well as a traditional stone lithography setup.