Written by: Nageen Shaikh
Posted on: March 16, 2018 | 
| 中文
Shahzia Sikander's 'The Red Lotus'
Pakistani-American artist Shahzia Sikander and Pakistani artist Rashid Rana successfully showcased their latest works at The Armory Show in New York City, last week. I took great pleasure in viewing their works at the show; both artists were the most sought-after creative giants at Pier 92/94, where their works were displayed with numerous other artists from around the globe. While Sikander, represented by Sean Kelly Gallery, put up a huge rectangular glass mosaic in vivid red tones with hues of green and blue, Rana’s body of work, represented by Leila Heller Gallery, included multiple pieces, ranging from small to massive in scale and in vibrant colors.
The Armory Show is an annual international art fair in New York, which provides a platform for artists to exhibit and collectors to seek premier art works, all under one roof. While Pier 92 displayed Modern Art from the 20th century, Pier 94 had platforms for contemporary works, along with live events such as discussions with renowned curators and artists. One of Pakistan’s most celebrated contemporary artists, Rashid Rana, had his works displayed in the Modern Art section due to the subject matter of his work, and his critical artistic approach. Rana works with the grid, an essential component of the Modernist framework, where he converts historical paintings into pixels, rearranging the content to layer the work with new meaning and concept. His most recent work, such as Re-Orient I (The Snake Charmer) and War Within VII, derives from the works of European artists, such as Jean-Leon Gerome and Jacques-Louis David respectively, who often painted oriental subjects. The purpose behind re-arranging the content of such historically significant art is to investigate it critically. Rana’s work examines how Western art has encouraged the fantasies of the colonizers, who painted oriental subjects through an eroticized lens, as well as under a discriminatory light. By shifting the content drastically, Rana creates a different composition altogether. With his skill in photography, painting and installation, he re-imagines history, as his conceptually-driven artistic practice creates new meanings.
My ongoing research on Sikander’s work allowed me to understand some aspects of her great exploration of post-colonial studies, identity, history and mythology. Internationally renowned, Shahzia Sikander is a pioneering artist of contemporary miniature, amongst other art forms. Her oeuvre redefines the practice of Indo-Persian miniature, which she layers with mythological symbols, Western iconography and global history, thus, rendering her art with multiple associations. The Red Lotus, displayed in the contemporary art section at Pier 94, is a lovely glass mosaic that refers to the love story of the folklore characters Baz Bahadur and Rupmati. Before I even began interpreting the purpose of her work, I took a long time to closely gaze at and appreciate the subtlety and delicacy of the artistic details. The story of Baz and Rupmati is considered lost in the miniature legend, and Sikander revives it by creating a glass mosaic, whose surface is broken down as well. Thus, by using such an artistic technique, the artist reflects upon the characters’ love and their lost vernacular, in the tradition of the miniature. While this work is a mosaic, Sikander is a multi-faceted artist who in the past has delved into drawing, ink, painting, calligraphy, installation and video making.
The Armory Show lasted four days from March 8th till 11th and was visited by art enthusiasts, collectors, critics and general audiences alike. At a cosmopolitan artistic stage, one is always pleased to see Pakistani representation, especially in an art hub like New York, where art is considered a force to eliminate boundaries and foster creative practices.
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