Shadia Alem
Untitled 04, 2012
Lambda print alucobond mounted on aluminium faced with perspex
120 x 200 cm (47 1/4 x 78 3/4 in.)
From the series Supreme Ka'ba of God
SAL0010
The artist was born in what is now called the ‘first belt’ around the Holy Mosque, which is the most precious and the most subjected to drastic change.
The artist is a witness of the change taking place in the city of Mecca during the past decade and to the disfiguration of her home town where she was born and raised. The artist’s camera managed to document those changes and provided her with enough material to rebuild, in an artwork, the new Mecca.
The concept lies in the title ‘Kabat Allah Al-ulya’ (Supreme Ka’ba of God) – the caption of the old engraving by the Austrian orientalist Andreus Magnus Hunglinger 1803. The title thus juxtaposes the content of the images which show towering steel formations reaching higher and higher into the sky with the Ka’ba sinking down beneath the giant skyscrapers, cranes and scaffolds, in a continuous battle between construction and destruction.
The artist is not passing judgment, but seeks answers to the questions – Is modernity in conflict with spirituality? Would materialism displace the supreme values in our life and hearts? The only thing she is sure of is; the sadness she felt whilst working on this project.
The title 'Tesselation' is derived both from the action of creating a 2D plane with geometric shapes, and the history of making images through "tessera".
The exhibition proposes artists of a geographical focus of origins in the MENA region (middle east north africa) and the neighboring connections of Iran and Turkey, and bringing (meshing) pieces together that will suggest a weave of stories. Also, the works chosen are conceptually driven or aesthetically deceiving.
The exhibition will juxtapose emerging and sustained artists which are dissecting the stories of now. The selection of artists focus on, but not limited to, those who
employ mediums of photo, video, multi and mixed-media, and performance.
Within the exhibition, subcategories include works that deal with personal identity, that use a form of tessellation in developing their work; works that refer back to heritage, craft or ornamentation; and works that discover geographical scapes, borders and territory.
Tesselation Make Up could be visited between September 15th-October 20th at Galeri Zilberman in Misir Apartments Building in Istanbul.
For more information
http://www.galerizilberman.com/tessellation-make-up-e101.html
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