Habib Hajallie's Meticulous Ballpoint Pen Drawings Examine the Depths of Emotion

"In his current solo exhibition, Black & Blue at Larkin Durey, Hajallie grapples with the devastating stillbirth of his daughter and the "indescribable emotions that sit beneath language," says the gallery. For this show, the artist deliberately switched from using black ballpoint ink to blue. As he made these works, Hajallie also reflected on the loss of his sister four years ago."

"Using antique maps and snippets of philosophical and sociological writings, he portrays subtle sides of what the gallery describes as "an altered sense of self." Figures, including several self-portraits, exude feelings of despair, confusion, numbness, care, and the nuanced emotions that emerge in-between."

""While this series is concerned with the internal landscape of loss and what it means to endure a profoundly altered reality, each artwork has acted as an invaluable step towards healing," the gallery says. "By drawing directly onto antique texts that explore morality, purpose, and transcendence, Hajallie's personal pain enters into a wider conversation about finding meaning and the ways in which drawing can become a space of solace and catharsis.""

Black & Blue presents ballpoint pen works made from found fragments of philosophical and historical texts, using blue ink instead of black. The works center on memory, connection, and loss, shaped by personal experiences including the stillbirth of the artist’s daughter and the death of his sister. Antique maps and snippets of philosophical and sociological writings are incorporated to depict an altered sense of self. Figures, including self-portraits, express despair, confusion, numbness, care, and emotions that exist between language and feeling. Drawing directly onto texts about morality, purpose, and transcendence frames personal pain as part of a broader search for meaning, solace, and catharsis.

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