Two exhibitions in one go! Over the weekend I had
the pleasure to visit the Whitworth art gallery in Manchester to see both
Beyond Borders and Raqib Shaw exhibitions. Both very different in the styles of
art and design but were united by their core representation of North and south Asian
culture. With the new programme of the new North and South Asian art
exhibitions based over the North of England which celebrates South Asian art
culture from countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh
and Sri Lanka.
First on the plan was to see Beyond Borders which was an exhibition celebrating south Asian textiles from the above countries. This exhibition was full of rich opulent fabrics, detailed floral wallpaper and contemporary abstract prints which in itself was telling the viewer a story about who and what was south Asian. Each part of exhibitions art was unfolding a story about that particular piece of art and design which to me added another dimension of it being more than a visual piece to see and something that is part of history.
With amazement I was socking every bit of it in with its rich colours of opulent to the subtle detailed floral prints. I was in love with it all, the simple monochrome prints are one of my favourite with the touches of bright colour and abstract shapes. It was the simplicity of this print that drew me in, as with all the art work there it was a fine balance of not going overboard but still keeping in with its core tradition. Another favourite of mine was the bright orange crossover art work which appeared as it was made from a net fabric. This brightly coloured piece of art work in my option would brighten any living room space and add a focal point of beauty.
Everything in this exhibition brought
a familiarity to what I was bought up with as a young child in a Pakistani
family. The brightly coloured fabrics
with rich patterns and luxurious materials is the clothing I wore to family occasions.
I was happily immersed in my element in
this cultural beauty of south Asian design.
It was now time for the second
exhibition by Raqib Shaw which was the plan to see all along. This wasn’t far
from the first exhibition as it was all in the same area celebrating south
Asian design. As soon as I wheeled in I
was stunned by that beautiful sort of surreal at the same time wallpaper print.
The exhibition was layered out in a way that I have entered an interior design
space and not an art exhibition. The furniture, rug and art work were set in a
layout to compliment each other and the wallpaper as if this was one piece
rather than multiple. The royal blue
wallpaper was an imagination of Shaw’s creation with the surreal theme leading
throughout the design. It was full of mythical creatures and motifs of tumbling
coins which gave it the wow factor as it should but also a sense of disturbing
emotions as if it was not the norm.
This was a very out there exhibition that
was a true representation of who Raqib Shaw was. There was a running theme
throughout this exhibition of eastern and western art history. From the
renaissance architecture, Japanese prints to the Hindu iconography. The celebration
of myths, gods, animals and humans was a symbol of old Hinduism which was
beautiful in the way the art was created but also disturbing for a viewer to
look at imagery of animals acting humans. As a viewer and art lover going into
this I felt a sense of what am I looking at and is this real. It was beauty mixed
with surrealism, a combination of weird and stunningly amazing at the same
time.
To be brutally honest although the art and design of the exhibition
was capturing and stunningly beautiful and it did blew me away. However I felt a sense of uncomforting emotion
viewing the bizarre work of art.
To find out more information click on the below link and I shall
see you next time!
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