jakup ferri

Artist's statement

While I was studying (1999-2004), my city Prishtina was invisible and isolated from the western (art) world. This became an influence for my work, its content and its appearance.

The awareness of the political situation; the invisibility of my country within the artworld and the alienation from western art from which art students like myself suffered, resulted in a series of video's where I dealt with this problematical case. It resulted in videos created with a certain spontaneity and desire to experiment. I reflect on them more as 'test' videos.
I used myself as the main protagonist in these videos to establish an ironic distance to issues of cultural identity, history and the place of the peripheral artist. Often the videos exist of just one shot.
Using my own appearance seems a necessary strategy. I show myself far away from art-history, trapped in my own house, neighborhood and my room. I wanted to challenge my own reality. Also my physical appearance distracts from the political weight and creates an imaginary space for a more universal and psychological interpretation, thus showing an absurd vision on humanity. This also applies to my drawings.

Since these last few years, I have been focusing more on the works on paper and wallpaintings. Lately I have been doing a series of drawings in the form of paper mosaics. I recycle waste packages of different products, cut them into little pieces, and use them to make my mosaics. The industrial waste then becomes a little piece of color in mosaics, and they gain a completely different function. I also like the idea of using a very simple material such as paper to gain the same effect as if it were made of stones like a real mosaic. This illusion and shift of function remains hidden behind the narrative of the drawings. Often I also use found objects as a surface for my drawings like windows from boats and trains.
My drawings portray various situations in thin, fine lines. They often show circumstances in which people are alienated from their surroundings. Moreover, questions involving identity and the status of the outsider become an important role in my oeuvre. Ordinary practices from everyday life, critique of the cynicism of the art world and memories from my personal background have all become recurring subjects within my work.

In these last few years I have made extensive research about outsider artists, folk art, naive oriented painters and their engagement with different hand made materials such as blankets, carpets, glasses etc. They have been a great influence on my works. I see a great value in works that are hand made, textiles, authentic, punctual and unpolished character of this type of art.
I use my associative and intuitive ability to guide the creation of my work, which may be the main similarity between my work and folk art and craft. Often I show situations where the human being is isolated from his/her surroundings. Isolation, wanting contact, wanting to be a part of something, desire and failure are all topics exposed. My inspiration comes from my direct surroundings. I use the dissension of living between two worlds involving my personal experiences.

j.f.

 

 

 

Jakup Ferri, Untitled, 2023 Ed. of 25, piezografie, 21 x 29,7 cm
Jakup Ferri, Untitled, 2023 Ed. of 25, piezografie, 21 x 29,7 cm
Jakup Ferri
Untitled, 2023
pencil on paper
25 x 20 cm
Jakup Ferri, Many Names, Andriesse Eyck Galerie, 2023, Overview
Jakup Ferri
Untitled, 2009
 
paper on paper, varnish
81 x 102 cm
Jakup Ferri, Tintirinti, tapestries / carpets, wool
Jakup Ferri, Tintirinti, tapestries / carpets, wool
Jakup Ferri, Untitled, (from the series Muscle Memory), 2017
stitched with sewing machine on cotton
120 x 160 cm
Jakup Ferri, drawing, 2017
Jakup Ferri, drawing, 2017
Jakup Ferri, drawing, 2017
Jakup Ferri, drawing, 2017
Jakup Ferri, drawing, 2017
Jakup Ferri, drawing, 2017


Jakup
Ferri, Untitled, (from the series Muscle Memory), 2016 cross-stitch,
cotton, 2014, 102
x 145 cm

Jakup Ferri, Untitled, (from the series Muscle Memory), 2015
embroidered, acrylic wool on cotton
140 x 194 cm
Jakup Ferri, Untitled, (from the serie Muscle Memory), 2016, embroidered, acrylic wool on cotton, 84 x 110 cm
Jakup Ferri, Untitled, (from the serie Muscle Memory), 2017, stiched with sewing machine on cotton, 122 x 166 cm
Jakup Ferri, Untitled, 2015, embroidery in acrylic wool, 94 x 118 cm
Jakup Ferri, Untitled, 2015, hand-woven carpet in wool, 180 x 217 cm

Jakup Ferri, Untitled, 2015, embroidery in acrylic wool on cotton, 140 x 188 cm
Jakup Ferri, Untitled, 2015, embroidery in acrylic wool on cotton, 102 x 137 cm
Jakup Ferri, Untitled, 2015, embroidery in acrylic wool on cotton, 115 x 160 cm
Jakup Ferri, view The Whale That Was A Submarine, Ludwig Museum Budapest 2016
Jakup Ferri, view The Whale That Was A Submarine, Ludwig Museum Budapest 2016
Jakup Ferri, view The Whale That Was A Submarine, Ludwig Museum Budapest 2016
Jakup Ferri
Jakup Ferri, gallery view, 2015
Jakup Ferri, Untitled, 2013, hand woven wool on vek, 209 x 290 cm
Jakup Ferri, gallery view, 2015
Jakup Ferri, Untitled, 2013, hand woven wool, 156 x 195 cm
Jakup Ferri, Untitled, 2014, embroidered on cotton with crochet fringe, 100 x 148 cm
Jakup Ferri, Untitled, 2014, embroidered on cotton with crochet fringe, 112 x 155 cm
Jakup Ferri, Untitled, 2014, crochet, 112 x 170 cm
Jakup Ferri, gallery view, 2015
Jakup Ferri, Untitled, 2013, crochet and stitched on polyester, 102 x 100 cm
Jakup Ferri, Untitled, 2013, garment, stiched with sewing machine and crochet, 74 x 65 cm
Jakup Ferri, gallery view, 2015
Jakup Ferri, Untitled, 2014, crochet, acrylic / wool on cotton, 115 x 152 cm
Jakup Ferri, Untitled, 2014, crochet, acrylic / wool on cotton, 127 x 186 cm
Jakup Ferri, Untitled, 2014, crochet, beads, acrylic / wool on cotton, 152 x 92 cm
Jakup Ferri, gallery view, 2015
Jakup Ferri, gallery view, 2009
Jakup Ferri, exhibition view, 2010, De Hallen, Haarlem
jakup Ferri, Untitled, 2008
jakup Ferri, Untitled, 2006, ink on paper, 42 x 30 cm
jakup Ferri, Untitled, 2006, ink on paper, 42 x 30 cm
jakup Ferri, Untitled, 2008