How You Make Me Feel

CONTENT WARNING: Self harm, suicide, abuse, homophobia

How You Make Me Feel | Digital | (2022)

There is a lot I want to say about this piece. I draw in an unplanned, organic way. When things appear in my imagination, I add them in.

I imagined hands coming down as spiders, throwing out hooks, manipulating my face, my emotions, how I appear to the outside world.

The hooks would pull and tear at my skin, as the lines pulled through bone and sinew.

Why illustrate such violence towards oneself? Well for one thing it is better than hurting my physical body.

Through the process of this illustration I realised I was expressing some deep traumas that I have not really addressed directly. When I look back at the body of my work, it is obvious where I have subconsciously explored these feelings. In deciding to make this piece with more focus, I found that it drained and took a lot out of me. I worked on it tirelessly until it all came into focus, and when it did, I felt a tidal wave of exhaustion but also relief.

I feel like the time is right to share these stories. They will provide context for this work.

Laadheenee Rights, Maldives, Maldivian Politics, Writing, Self Reflection, Non-fiction, Digital ArtHani Amir4 August 2022Comment

31 Dhivehi Haikus for the month of August

In August during lockdown, I wrote a haiku in Dhivehi each day. It started off with simple Thaana text on black background, and slowly evolved to incorporate my photographs. It is nice to write haikus in Dhivehi as the structure lends itself nicely to counting the syllables.

The poems themselves seemed to take on a very self reflective nature, with common themes being the ocean, Maldivian life, and life in Male’ City.

I have included english translations for each of them. However do note that sometimes the meaning and syllable structure is lost somewhat in translation.

Originally posted on my instagram.

Fiction, Maldives, Self Reflection, Writing, PoetryHani Amir24 November 2020Comment

The Foreign Songs They Used to Play on TVM

Dhivehi Media Industry, Maldives, Music, Maldivian Culture, Contemporary MaldivesHani Amir17 February 2020Comment

The Dhivehi Art Drop vol. 1

Interesting and inspiring content by Dhivehi / Maldivian artists.

Contemporary Maldives, Dhivehi Art, Maldives, Art ListsHani Amir13 July 2019Comment

The Laadheenee Digest #2

Laadheenee Rights, Maldives, Maldivian Culture, Contemporary Maldives, The LaadheeneeHani Amir30 June 2019Comment

The Laadheenee Digest #1

The Laadheenee, Contemporary Maldives, Downloads, Maldives, Laadheenee RightsHani Amir18 February 2019Comment

Maldives Twitter VS Francesca Borri

Nothing brings Maldivians together like a good roast 🔥.

Contemporary Maldives, Maldivian Social Media, MaldivesHani Amir28 January 2019twitterComment

Doorways to the Sea

Chapter 02 of my work in progress book "Sinking Streets".

Our lives are framed by doorways. These portals that open onto the street. In Male’ City, there is no such thing as a front yard. There are more cemeteries than parks – a good thing as a lot of the trees that have not been felled exist within their walls. A lot can happen in these doorways. Lovers flirt, children play, the old watch a rapidly changing world pass them by. If you are lucky the doorway will open to a path instead of straight inside your home.

Photo Essays, Non-fiction, Self Reflection, Contemporary Maldives, Maldives, PhotographyHani Amir11 October 2018Comment

Visualising the votes that sold the Maldives

Here is question for Maldivians: Can you name your constituency and your elected official without having to check it somewhere?

These are some visualisations of the public voting records of the people's Majlis session in 2015 that amended the constitution to allow for foreign ownership of land or freeholds. Land is an incredibly scarce resource in the Maldives, with the majority of Moldavians living in cramped quarters, never getting to access most of their own country.

Contemporary Maldives, Maldives, Maldivian PoliticsHani Amir4 August 2018MajlisComment

Three Classic Maldivian Music Videos That Totally Don't Normalise Street Harassment

Street harassment is a huge issue in the Maldives. Many women share stories about how they get harassed almost every single day while just walking to work. This has led to many social movements, such as #Nufoshey (don't harass).

The Maldivian entertainment industry has historically led the charge against harassment, responding to this atmosphere of fear by creating some groundbreaking music videos that both shocked and enlightened, dramatically reducing the incidence of street harassment in their wake. Here are three shining examples.

Contemporary Maldives, Maldivian Culture, Writing, Dhivehi Art, Dhivehi Media Industry, MaldivesHani Amir2 July 2018Comment

#MenAreTrash hashtag sparks widespread debate and outrage on Maldivian twitter

The polarising hashtag caused an uproar and week long drama across the Maldivian twitterverse and tweeps debated the controversial topic. Are men trash? Are men trash, but is the wording wrong? Have people who say men are trash actually not met enough men who are not trash? Are women responsible for the men in their life being trash? Can they simply just filter them out? All this and more below. This is of course just a taste. I also did not include some of the nastier stuff from obvious troll accounts.

Maldivian Social Media, Maldives, Contemporary MaldivesHani Amir30 May 2018Maldives, twitter, feminismComment