1. Untitled 28  I  65 x 80 cm  I  Aatigrafie, Mixed Media on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2018

2. Untitled 29  I  65 x 80 cm  I  Aatigrafie, Mixed Media with metal on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2018

3. Untitled 30  I  65 x 80 cm  I  Aatigrafie, Mixed Media with metal on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2018

4. Untitled 31  I  65 x 80 cm  I  Aatigrafie, Mixed Media with metal on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2018

5. Untitled 32  I  65 x 80 cm  I  Aatigrafie, Mixed Media on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2018

6. Untitled 33  I  65 x 80 cm  I  Aatigrafie, Mixed Media on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2018

7. Untitled 34  I  65 x 80 cm  I  Aatigrafie, Mixed Media on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2018

8. Untitled 35  I  65 x 80 cm  I  Aatigrafie, Mixed Media on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2018

9. Untitled 36  I  65 x 80 cm  I  Aatigrafie, Mixed Media on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2018

10. Untitled 37  I  65 x 80 cm  I  Aatigrafie, Mixed Media with metal on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2018

During his four-week residency in the printmaking workshops at the LWL-Kulturstätte Kloster Bentlage in Rheine, Germany, in the autumn of 2017, Aatifi created a series of new works on paper in which he combines various (print) graphic techniques on a single sheet. The new prints on handmade paper, which combine monotype, metal, frottage, paper form, experimental (print) techniques and graphite drawing, possess poetic power and mysterious delicacy. The artist calls the graphic combination that he has created ‘Aatigraphy’. Like all his abstract-scriptural works on canvas and paper, the new graphics are compositionally alive with dynamically curved forms and lines, depth and space. (maba)

1. Untitled 1  I  75 x 65 cm  I  Aatigrafie, Mixed Media with metal on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2017

2. Untitled 2  I  75 x 65 cm  I  Aatigrafie, Mixed Media with metal on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2017

3. Untitled  3 I  65 x 75 cm  I  Aatigrafie, Mixed Media with metal on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2017

4. Untitled 15  I  65 x 75 cm  I  Aatigrafie, Mixed Media with metal on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2017

5. Untitled 17  I  75 x 65 cm  I  Aatigrafie, Mixed Media with metal on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2017

6. Untitled 19  I  65 x 75 cm  I  Aatigrafie, Mixed Media with metal on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2017

7. Untitled 20  I  65 x 75 cm  I  Aatigrafie, Mixed Media with metal on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2017

8. Untitled 38  I  75 x 65 cm  I  Aatigrafie, Mixed Media with metal on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2017

9. Untitled 39  I  75 x 65 cm  I  Aatigrafie, Mixed Media with metal on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2017

The use of metal in the works on handmade paper can also be understood as a reference to Afghanistan’s rich mineral resources such as the aluminium ore bauxite or copper, lithium, iron and gold. ‘I have been looking for this metal for a long time to be able to use it in my works. It has a very special sheen, a tactile smooth surface that I really wanted to include in my new works,’ says Aatifi.

The collages from 2016 represent the first time Aatifi has combined his abstract-scriptural elements with abstracted figurative components, even though his main work is and remains abstract-scriptural art: the Afghan-German artist has been drawing since childhood and has always worked figuratively in parallel. Aatifi also leaves this series untitled, thereby deliberately leaving the interpretation of the mysterious, narrative motifs to the viewer. (maba)

1. Untitled  I  80 x 90 cm  I  Aatigrafie, graphite, metal on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2016

2. Untitled I  80 x 90 cm  I  Aatigrafie, graphite, metal on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2016

3. Untitled  I  80 x 90 cm  I  Aatigrafie, graphite, metal on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2016

4. Untitled  I  80 x 90 cm  I  Aatigrafie, ink, graphite, metal on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2016

5. Untitled  I  80 x 90 cm  I  Aatigrafie, ink, graphite, metal on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2016

6. Untitled  I  80 x 90 cm  I  Aatigrafie, ink, graphite, metal on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2016

7. Untitled  I  90 x 80 cm  I  Aatigrafie with metal on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2016

8. Untitled  I  80 x 90 cm  I  Aatigrafie, graphite, metal on laid paper  I  Aatifi 2016