Thin Cities

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Asia Alfasi

The non-savvy non-commuter
Piccadilly Circus

Through comic strip sequences Alfasi weaves a semi-autobiographical tale amongst the tunnels of the Underground. The work focuses on the Tube as an environment in which hundreds of nationalities and personalities mix in close proximity. Alfasi’s use of naïve Manga style analyses her ironic feeling of distance from fellow passengers that is perhaps common for many tube travellers. As her two characters meet and discuss the faces and varying interpretations of personal expression around them they present a complex picture of social identity seen through the eyes of two young Muslim women.

The role of fiction and narrative is something that Alfasi plays with in this piece as she has done in previous works. By fictionalising her own experiences the artist allows viewers to bring their own stories and interpretation to the work and reflect upon the context of the story. Here, where the Tube becomes a metaphor for journeys through space and in time, the characters become representatives or vehicles for messages in a familiar story making tradition.

Alfasi is currently working on a major publication of her works commissioned by Bloomsbury. She is studying Visual Communication at University of Central England, Birmingham.