Clockwise The painting not only depicts the cityscape, but also includes references in Arabic to virtues such as justice, doing good, being trustworthy and honesty. A miniature reminscent of old Damascene houses with Arabic inscriptions that depicts the basmala that prefaces every chapter of the Quran: ‘In the name of Allah, the most beneficient, the most merciful’
Far left One of Hafez’s miniatures, with an
inscription, again quoting the the Quran, that states: ‘Invoke me [Allah], and I will respond to you’
instead, I have no qualms spending hundreds of hours detailing these. It’s super meditative.’ At the start of lockdown in 2020, however, he scaled up this yearning for home, for community and translated it into an actual, life-sized cafe, the Pistachio Café, in Newhaven. ‘It’s trying to replicate some of the atmosphere of these miniatures. It’s a very French baroque space, literally a living room, with crystal chandeliers and wallpaper and so on, Persian rugs and things people don’t typically expect in a public coffee house.’ It’s been going for two years, and attracting not just other homesick sorts from the Persian diaspora. ‘Everybody comes,’ says Hafez. ‘We have a lot of refugee chefs, I have a huge appetite and
palate, we carry so many Turkish, Syrian, Lebanese, Afghan, Italian and Greek [foods]. And it’s full of antiques and little radios I also use for my art work. It’s a way to build that common humanity. What lures you in could be the detail and the beauty and then the reality sneaks up on the viewer: “wait a second, this guy is also Syrian, Muslim, Arab, a third world refugee, an immigrant himself.” It’s using food and beauty as a form of diplomacy. It’s really a social practice experiment, very fulfilling. And at night we have all sorts of cultural salons, music, poetry.’
I express surprise that there is such an inclusive spirit in what I perceived to be a hugely affluent, North American region. ‘It’s a well kept
secret,’ he tells me. ‘Newhaven is a sanctuary city. Tere are a few sanctuary cities in the US. Connecticut has Yale University and that draws people from all over. Te teacher base alone is very diverse. It’s one of few sanctuary cities in America where undocumented immigrants cannot be deported, so it’s a safe haven for them. I didn’t know that about it when I moved there, but it’s wonderful.’ Despite it all, it seems like Hafez has made a home – of sorts.
Brighton Festival guest director Marwa al-Sabouni is the author of Te Search for Home and Building for Hope, looking at the built environment and the impact of its destruction and reconstruction in times of war.
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