Here, we ask an artist to frame the essential details behind one of their latest works.
Bio: Hana Yilma Godine, 34, Addis Ababa (@yilmish_hana).
Title of work: Substance in Space 2.
Where to see it: “A Hair Salon in Addis Ababa” at Rachel Uffner Gallery (170 Suffolk St, New York) and Fridman Gallery (169 Bowery, New York) until March 5.
Three words to describe it: The body, the Earth, and the Universe.
What was on your mind at the time: How thoughts and substance occupy the mind and settle on the materials.
An interesting feature that’s not immediately noticeable: The bees are a reference to social systems and the love a generation of people can have for their country.
How it reflects your practice as a whole: The poetic use of ideas, materials, and subject matter, and how it illuminates the boundaries between the body, the paint, and the surface. The body, the earth, and the universe are in conversation as substances in the alchemical sense.
One song that captures its essence: Addis Ababa by Alemayehu Eshete.
