Written by: Nayha Jehangir Khan
Posted on: December 16, 2020 | 
| 中文
Reverie
The construction of rich and complex fabrics are an integral part of our cultural heritage, artisanal legacy and shared identity within the Global South. Over the last 40 decades, Shakil Saigol has showcased his versatile painting practice with large scale figurative oil paintings conceptualizing heritage textile, craft and design motifs.
Dark Intrusion
The group of leading ladies featured in his works are the main protagonists of a glamourous cinematic film that the artist captures with his stylised strokes and rendering of colour. The fashion, sophistication and flair of these females standing, reclining and seated in sarees reference an old-era charm and elegance that the artist personalizes, and meticulously captures in this latest painting series. These show-stopping female leads are placed symmetrically at the centre of the picture plane accompanied by sculptural objects, colonial furniture, ghostly graphite renditions of stone statues and animal wallpaper.
Saigol’s latest solo exhibition titled “Taana Baana: Dangerous Liaisons of Warp and Weft” at O Art Space, Lahore, is a series of 11 paintings using gouache paints, graphite, silver leaf and gold leaf on Arches paper. Made through live drawing sessions with various models, the collection of sarees they wear are intricate miniature paintings by themselves.
Solitude
Earlier, Saigol had created a painting series that had colourful backgrounds, with the foreground playing out a narrative between a female character with herself, or a lush thick green tropical landscape and safari animals creating a kind of mirage. There has been a diverse range of themes over the decades that the artist draws into his canvas, but they largely explore human psychology, politics, society and personal life.
To understand Saigol’s visual vocabulary, it is important to acknowledge that his spouse Rehana is an immense influence on his work. She is an actor, kathak dancer, jewelry and fashion designer, with a passion for formal sarees wear. Known by their friends and family as ‘Chand’ and ‘Chunni’, the couple share a life-long partnership, artistic values and ancestral roots in Calcutta, India.
Their joint celebration of heritage traditions includes dance and design, perhaps the collection of sarees painted in the series are also extensions of her collections. The ladies quietly in conversation in ‘Triumvirate - Kanjivaram 2’, are exquisitely dressed in traditional hand-woven silk sarees from Kanchipuram in South India. Their hair tied back in a bun hints at their high-society status, with exaggerated gold bejewelled earrings and necklaces emphasizing their wealth. The sculpture featured between them is referencing Odissi, one of the principal classical dance styles of India from the temples of Odisha. In ‘Taana Baana - Kanjivaram 1’ the two ladies are not engaging with each other, and are painted with vacant expressions. Only the auspicious sculptural presence of Devi Parvati between them draws attention, representing love, fertility and devotion. She in a dance pose, creating an instant visual bridge between the two subjects.
Taana Baana
The statement furniture pieces anchoring in the space around the figurative subject have intricate wood carving patterns that feel heavy and sculptural. The two gorgeous Varanasi sarees designs seen in the paintings ‘In Contemplation - Varanasi 1’, is in gold and ‘Mode Victoriana - Varanasi 2’ is in silver, referencing the ancient city of Varanasi also called Benares. These ladies waiting to be noticed have been given the backdrop of matching zebra print backdrop that perfectly frame the model and furniture piece. These ghostly zebras are featured in the series with gold and silver leaf finishing that add to the opulence, and create an interesting textured layer to the composition.
In Contemplation
This is not the first time Saigol has used animals in his paintings as they were initially in the foreground of his earlier works. But the artist has now pushed them back into the distance, leaving traces of monotone line and form that compliment the figurative and sculptural objects.
The lush renditions of botanical motifs in the drapery show the mastery of brushstroke and meditative painting style of the artist. The gold and silk fabric that falls to the infinite white expanse, reveals their contemporary nature. With no colourful backgrounds, the sarees is the focus of each painting. A carefully curated series made from centuries-old fashion traditions, feels immediate and alive on the warm skin tones that Saigol paints to create his female protagonists. The exhibition is on display till December 21, 2020.
Mode Victoriana
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