Diana Kassim is a political artist with Yemeni-Hungarian origins. She spent her early childhood in communist Hungary and there experienced how a country can transition from atheist communism, to a capitalist democracy, to a Christian nationalist autocracy. Knowing how a change of system affects the everyday life and core values of a society, in her art, she tries to draw attention to these shifting values. Her works unveil that the reality we all live in is an illusion manipulated by different political trends. The reality, whatever it looks like, cannot be accessed.
Kassim prefers to explore ideas through faces and colours, as she spent her early childhood in a communist country with colourless and faceless art. In her works, human is always in the centre. She doesn’t articulate a particular political view, but the effects of politics on society.
Kassim explores her ideas using a wide range of techniques, from sculpture to collage in both 2D and 3D. Everyday objects, deconstructed, are often her artistic raw materials. These can be anything: electronic devices, newspapers, or even human hair.