Pink Schlemmer

Artist and filmmaker Oliver Husain is based in Toronto. His projects are frequently collaborations with other artists and friends; and often begin with a fragment of history, a rumor, a personal encounter or a distant memory. He uses a wide range of cinematic languages, technical experiments and visual pleasures — such as dance, puppetry, costume, special effects — to animate his research and fold the viewers into complex narrative set-ups.

His work has been featured at prestigious venues including the Forum Expanded section of the Berlinale International Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, Experimenta Festival Bangalore, and major exhibitions from ICA Los Angeles to Remai Modern, Saskatoon. Husain has collaborated extensively with the Goethe-Institut on several significant projects, using this platform to foster cultural dialogue between German, Canadian and South Asian artistic traditions and expressions. His work is represented by Susan Hobbs, Toronto, and Clages, Cologne.

Oskar Schlemmer (1888-1943) was a pioneering German artist, choreographer, and designer who revolutionized theatrical performance while teaching at the Bauhaus school. His visionary "Triadic Ballet" transformed dancers into geometric, sculptural forms through innovative costumes that explored the relationship between the human body and abstract space. Schlemmer's work was characterized by a unique synthesis of colour theory, spatial dynamics, and mechanical movement, creating a new visual language that celebrated the harmony between humans and technology.

His concept of "Menschbild" (image of man) positioned the human figure as both natural and artificial—a metaphysical entity existing between cosmic order and mathematical precision. Through his interdisciplinary approach, Schlemmer created a lasting legacy that continues to influence contemporary art, dance, theater, and design principles.

Schlemmer's artistic vision was brutally interrupted when the Nazi regime condemned his work as "entartete Kunst" (degenerate art) in 1937, forcing him into internal exile where he worked in isolation at a paint factory in Wuppertal until his death, his innovative legacy temporarily silenced by fascist persecution that rejected his progressive humanist ideals.