10 Questions with Haidar Ali Tipu Zinan

Haidar Ali Tipu Zinan Zapata Ochoa was born in Bogotá, Colombia in 1997. He studied Plastic Arts and Art History at the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University. During his professional career, he has participated in group and solo shows and residencies both in Colombia and abroad. His most recent solo exhibitions have addressed the issue of temporality in art history from different approaches and archetypes: Arriba y abajo de la corriente in Monterrey, Mexico (2022); From Codazzi to contemporary art in Tunja, Colombia (2023); and Landscape about landscape in Bogotá, Colombia (2023). Likewise, he has participated twice in the "Recognition of the Essay and Art Criticism in Colombia" awarded by Andes University.

Due to his active career, he has been awarded the Bernardo Páramo Award and multiple scholarships from the Colombian Ministry of Culture. Currently, he lives and works between Bogotá and Sogamoso, Colombia.

haidarstudio.com | @haid.art_

ARTIST STATEMENT

His work focuses on exploring and producing pieces that revolve around the archetypes present in art history and the concept of time. In most cases, these pieces establish a symbolic dialogue with art history. Therefore, each of his creations responds to a unique quest, using the medium and materiality that best enhances them. His research often leads him to large-scale projects where the bodily experience with the piece becomes significant within a spatial, material, and symbolic context.

INTERVIEW

Please introduce yourself to our readers. Who are you, and how would you define yourself as an artist?

I am a visual artist and art historian. I am 27 years old and live in Colombia, where I develop my work between the cities of Bogotá and Sogamoso. As an artist, I would define myself as a seeker and transformer of powerful images and archetypes drawn from historical narratives in art. As Aby Warburg described himself, I sometimes see myself as an "image scientist."

How did you develop into the artist you are today? What were the pivotal moments or influences, training, or personal experiences that shaped your artistic vision and practice?

The artist I am today is a blend of many elements. On the one hand, there is the personal side: since childhood, I have been highly sensitive to images and symbols, something I believe is deeply connected to my family environment and the influence of my Muslim parents. On the other hand, my training in visual arts and art history has provided me with tools to understand and work with a wide array of images from different perspectives.
I am particularly drawn to materiality, especially as a means to create poetic relationships between these images. In this regard, I have been influenced by many Colombian artists who, fortunately, were also my professors at university. And, of course, the deeper analysis of images stems from my upbringing, which emphasized the symbolic power they hold.

You have received accolades such as the Bernardo Páramo Award and scholarships from the Colombian Ministry of Culture. How have these recognitions influenced your practice and opportunities as an artist?

Receiving these recognitions has been a driving force in my career, particularly in enabling me to fund large-scale projects. For instance, the Bernardo Páramo Award allowed me to present a solo exhibition in Mexico featuring two large-format site-specific installations. Each piece covered an area of over 2,000 square meters, an experience I could not have realized without the award.
The same applies to the grants I've received from the Ministry of Culture. Last year, I was awarded one of the grants for young artists, which enabled me to develop a project I had been working on for some time but needed additional funding to elevate to new levels. This grant, along with others I have received, has significantly propelled me, not only conceptually but also logistically, as I've learned to manage the resources wisely.
Moreover, I feel this support has reshaped how I approach my work. Knowing I can access resources motivates me to think of more ambitious initiatives and take my projects to levels that once felt out of reach.

Having exhibited and participated in residencies both locally and internationally, how do the cultural and artistic contexts of different places influence your work?

That question is closely tied to what I do as an artist because one of the pillars of my work is finding historical, material, poetic, and experiential connections with the specific place where I am working or exhibiting. This approach often results in my pieces engaging in a dialogue with the space they inhabit.
In Mexico, for instance, my piece Wind Blankets subtly alluded to Quetzalcóatl, a pre-Hispanic deity associated with wind and time. While it wasn't an explicit reference, that connection was present, functioning as part of the context of the work.
In Colombia, when I participated in a residency that included a group exhibition at the Miguel Urrutia Art Museum of the Banco de la República, I worked in a museum room that had previously been a parking lot. For that space, I created a piece that gave the impression that a car had just left, leaving muddy tire tracks across the floor.

Speaking of your work, you mentioned that your choice of medium and materials varies depending on the project. How do you determine the most appropriate medium for a specific project?

The materiality of my pieces is the one aspect I never leave to chance. For me, working with material means engaging in a dialogue with it—a conversation between the image I envision and the possibilities the material offers. As I experiment, I "listen" to what the material "tells me," and in that exchange, I strive to find a balance between what I want to express and what the material is willing to give me.
In fact, many of my projects have resulted in unexpected outcomes, where the material expresses itself in the way that suits it best, and I simply allow myself to be surprised by that dynamic.

In your recent projects, you explored time and its relationship with art. How do you approach translating such abstract concepts into tangible artistic expressions?

Time, despite being such a complex and, in some sense, abstract concept, is also something profoundly human that we all experience in uniquely personal ways throughout our lives. From that perspective, I approach time and its many relationships with art by focusing on the perceptions and sensations it evokes.
For example, my work Time Falls was born from my fascination with the theory of relativity, but more specifically, from an image that emerged as I reflected on the metaphor of time as a river. I wondered: What happens to that river when it transforms into a waterfall and falls? How would that falling time look? Inspired by this idea, I created a series of pieces over 7 meters tall, where I emulated a waterfall using watercolor painting on canvas.
In From Codazzi to Contemporary Art, temporality also played a crucial role. Here, 19th-century antique maps became my compass. Through them, I explored how representations of territory and time can engage in dialogue with the present, tracing connections between the historical and the contemporary.

Your work also frequently engages with archetypes from art history. What sparked your initial interest in these themes, and how have they evolved throughout your career?

My interest in this subject began when I started studying art history. Over time, I realized that few works manage to convey as many layers of meaning as those that engage directly with their own history—in this case, with the multiple historical narratives of art. Since then, many of my pieces, whether consciously or unconsciously, end up exploring these relationships. This is evident in works like Landscape About/on Landscape, From Codazzi to Contemporary Art, and First Attempt to Raise a hell, among others.

Many of your projects involve large-scale works that emphasize bodily experience. What role does the viewer and their physical experience play in your artistic vision?

I firmly believe that an artwork is a constant relationship between the artist, the work, and the viewer. For this reason, all my large-format installations are designed to alter the viewer's experience of their own corporeality when confronted with something that changes their perception of space. I like to think of it in the context of an academic text—whose title escapes me at the moment—that discusses how Richard Serra, through his public space works, "kidnapped the space."

Looking ahead, are there particular narratives or artistic explorations you're excited to pursue? How do you envision your practice evolving in the coming years?

In the coming year and beyond, I hope to solidify two or three projects that I've been working on and that I feel have the potential to yield very interesting results. The first is an exploration of the archetypes of the bell in art history. This project has led me to uncover countless poetic connections between different cultures, both visually and experientially, and I'm excited to continue delving into it.
Another project I've been developing for several years is tied to my friendship with a geologist. This collaboration has opened up unexpected and meaningful paths for my artistic practice, and I'm eager to keep exploring where it might lead. Lastly, I plan to keep expanding the series of works I've already started while exploring new possibilities within them. With some luck, I also hope to secure more awards and scholarships to fund and bring these projects to life.

Lastly, as 2024 comes to a close, what accomplishments from this year are you most proud of, and what goals are you still working towards?

This year has undoubtedly been a period of transition and hard work. I've focused on patiently developing the projects I mentioned earlier. I've been producing and conceptualizing, searching for those powerful images that resonate with the archetypes of art history that particularly interest me. Additionally, around a month ago, I began working with an art gallery in Bogotá, which made me very excited. It's a journey that is just beginning, but I have high expectations and hope that the coming year will bring very positive results.

Artist’s Talk

Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a promotional platform for artists to articulate their vision and engage them with our diverse readership through a published art dialogue. The artists are interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj, the founder & curator of Al-Tiba9, to highlight their artistic careers and introduce them to the international contemporary art scene across our vast network of museums, galleries, art professionals, art dealers, collectors, and art lovers across the globe.