RESPECT.’s Artist of the Month: Hafsa Khan

In the last fifteen years, Columbus, Ohio has evolved in a variety of ways, including becoming home to a professional hockey franchise, being recognized by USA Today as a growing epicenter of fashion, and more recently, the presence of a sprawling art scene, thanks to popular monthly events like Gallery Hop. As the art scene grows, offspring of the scene are produced. As they are produced, they themselves produce and before long, we end up here, with artist Hafsa Khan, who is RESPECT.’s Artist of the Month.

Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Hafsa bounced around a bit in her early life, moving with her family to the outskirts of Detroit, before eventually settling in Columbus, where she has lived since high school. For the last 8 years, Hafsa has dedicated a great amount of time and talent into her craft, calling it “the blood in my veins and the flowers in my garden”. Derived from her love of religion and culture, Hafsa started off practicing Arabic calligraphy, but would ultimately transition into the illustration of people, while still managing to incorporate elements of calligraphy in her works. Hafsa’s pieces mostly consist of ink, paper and just enough watercolor to get your attention. For Hafsa, “it’s about manipulating the elements”.

Wanna know more about RESPECT.’s Artist of the Month, for September? Keep reading, as I was able to catch up with her for an in-depth interview.

A question that I feel creatives don’t get asked enough is ‘why?’ In your case, you’re an illustrator. Why do you do what you do?

I like deconstruction. I like to take photos of people and deconstruct them when I draw. I think it’s important to show people how your mind works, so they can ultimately understand you. My art can tell you so many things about me that I can’t put into words. I think that’s important. One of the main reasons I do the shit I do is because if I didn’t do it, I would die. Like, it’s so inherent in me to want to paint, draw, create. I had to let it out.

What artists would you say you are most influenced by? How has their influence helped make you the artist you are today?

I found myself looking up different types of typography, growing up. It helped me learn new forms of calligraphy and lettering. When I moved onto illustrating, I found myself looking at the rawness of Basquiat and channelling the humor and styles of Gangster Doodles. He’s so sick. If you somehow read this, Gangster Doodles, let’s be friends. Let me take you to my hookah bar and we can have tea and you can tell me your real name and why you decided to draw Gucci Mane as a waterfall.

There is a message in every creative outlet. What is the message you intend to convey with your works?

I want people to know that you can still be you, do you and remain relevant. I feel like everyone’s jumping on a wave, trying to make sure what they do appeals to the audience. You don’t always have to do that. Your work can be true to you and still get the recognition it deserves. The world responds to originality. You can put random Arabic words in Biggie’s crown. Do that because you want to.

When did you realize illustrating was something you wanted to make a career out of?

I hate the word ‘career’. I think it gives you the connotation that this is your job and you’re stuck to the confines of it. I don’t think I would call this art my career. It’s just what I do, you know? Like, I’m supposed to be doing this no matter what. I love what I do for my 9-5, I really do. But art is important too. And I just feel blessed that I can do both; that one of those passions supports the other, in a way. My 9-5 financially fuels my art, but the stories I hear and people I meet influence the art as well. And then in turn, the art inspires me to be more creative at the 9-5. So I wouldn’t say I decided to make anything a career. I just do what I do and the universe is beautiful for allowing it to work out this way.

I recently attended your exhibit, Paint Me Like One of Your French Girls. Hands down, it was one of the more refreshing things I’ve seen this year. For those who couldn’t make it, explain what was featured as well as the concept behind the title and event.

Thank you so much. Like that means the world to me. Paint Me Like One of Your French Girls was my first solo art exhibit. I had been planning an exhibit for months. It was like a culmination of all my work in the past year. There were three series on display. They were all portraits. The first series was hip-hop icons that were all framed and mounted. The second and third series were pop culture icons and people I knew that were displayed on this huge black wooden structure with some cool looking chains. Shoutout to my dad on making that shit. The name of the show kind of came to me from an Instagram comment. I routinely post pieces to my page and some interesting characters find me. I remember I did a Young Thug piece a while back and some random ass dude from Georgia commented on the photo saying, “paint me like one of dem trap ni****s!” I remember I died laughing. It’s so weird how these stupid things trigger a creative nerve. The event turned out way better than I expected. So many of the homies came through. There were great drinks, a lot of pies, and some really cool performances. I met a lot of new people who really dug what I did. I was on cloud 9.

You did an impressive bit of spoken word at the event too. Is that something you’re looking to get more in depth with in the future?

Oh God. Listen. I had to work up the courage to do that. Ultimately, I did the piece as a collab and my fear of disappointing my friend, Correy Parks, outweighed my stage fright so I did it. I think people who perform poetry and do spoken word are so, so brave. I felt naked. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever done. I think I’m going to remain in the shadows with this. Maybe I’ll ghostwrite.

What would you say the biggest push/pull factors of being an illustrator are?

I touched on this earlier, but I think it’s important to remain original; and that’s hard as hell. Have you ever read Art is Theft?

I haven’t.

It’s genius. It does a good job explaining originality in the context of borrowing vs. thievery. I think, again, as long as you’re remaining true to the creative voice in YOUR head, it’ll show in your work. If you’re constantly doing stuff to remain relevant, then you’re not being true to that voice. Honesty with yourself is key.

What advice can you offer to someone looking to pursue illustrating and build a name for themselves as you are currently doing?

Utilize the tools you already have in front of you. Social media is so huge, man. It can change your life. Utilize it strategically. Manipulate the tool. Don’t let it manipulate you.

Are there any upcoming projects or ventures we should know about?

I recently started working on a series called OG’s and Cleveland Homies. It’s going to be a series of faces from Cleveland, but each face has got a story. You’ll see.

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