Melancholy Feeling, Current Space
421 North Howard Street
Baltimore, MD21201
Ahmed Farid & Jehandleidy
Feb. 27 – April 11, 2021
I’d been to many exhibitions before; however, this is the most bizarre one I had ever been to. The exhibition was in Current Space, Baltimore. Due to COVID-19, viewers are not allowed inside the gallery. I visited the show outside the door. But this was a unique experience.
The title of the showcase was Melancholy Feeling featuring Ahmed Farid & Jehandleidy. This exhibition was “a collection of poems from a forgotten 26th birthday and the melancholy feeling with illustrations bringing them to life”. That’s the brief from the website, I don’t really understand the meaning of that. But it doesn’t bother me for experiencing this weird and distinct show.
The exhibition is meant to be visited from the outside. Once I arrived, there were two big showcases in front of the gallery. One was on the left side and the other was on the right side. The Melancholy Feeling was displayed in those two stages. The decoration was a disaster. Everything was scattered all over the show window, including clothes, pictures, and books. Also, there was a big mirror on the side of the street outside the gallery. Someone wrote a line on the mirror: U LOOK GREAT. I think all of them purposely arranged to set up the tone of Melancholy Feeling.
The content in those two windows were quite different. On the left, there were three wallpapers. They were design artwork rather than pictures or digital painting to me. The hue was consistent. They were all warm colors, such as pink and red.
On the other hand, the hue on the left window was cold colors, such as blue. The left and right were making a contrast to each other. Furthermore, the objects on the right were limited compared to the left. The blue pajama was standing out on the right stage. I consider that to be the main object. I don’t have a specific reason, but the pajamas gave me strong nostalgia feelings and impact, which invoked my melancholy feeling.
The show didn’t cost too much time to visit. After all, I wish the show could have longer and more things to visit which it’s unrealistic and hardly achieved during the pandemic period.
