KARACHI – Anila Qayyum Agha’s artwork is made up of series of collaged drawings that explore how social and gender-based issues result from the concepts constructed by history, traditions and the contemporary society.
“My usage of textile processes is inspired by the complicated social issues inherent in the fibre field. The addition of dyes, wax, coffee or tea stains invoke the history and residual memory of the feminine – of the domestic – and add to the depth of meaning conveyed by the drawings,” she says. Similarly, the use of embroidery as a drawing medium connects the multiple layers that result from her exploration of how concept and process interact, and bridges the gap between modern materials and the historical and traditional patterns of oppression and domestic servitude.
“This process results in artwork that is conceptually ambiguous, producing more complicated weaves of thought, artistic action and social experience.” Her series of drawings incorporate translucent and opaque effects on paper, examining the issues of space – whether political, domestic, public or private. “My artwork investigates strategies of control and dominance of the inhabitants within their spaces, interpreting the play of existence between the male and female domains where relative strengths, though clearly defined, continually shift from benign to malevolent.”
For her, the enclosure of the picture frame alludes to the enclosed and structured spaces that women live within and behind. “One example of this phenomenon is the placement of geometrical or floral patterns in my work that allude to the division screens that are actually and symbolically placed in front of the windows and doors in South Asian architecture to ensure seclusion of separate personal spaces for the genders.” The simplistic depiction of women and men in world history and the focus on the obvious physical and psychological differences, such as control and strength versus emotion and chaos, is of great interest to her.
“I use this depiction to generate works that question the validity of control and oppressive behaviours embedded in tradition and continually perpetuated behind the cultural veil.” Within her work, embroidery embodies an essential femininity because the push of the needle and the pull of the thread together represent the domestic identity of women and their ambivalent relationship to that identity.
“During the embroidery and beading process, the needle and the myriad threads stitch in the personal narratives of women, thus creating beautiful but silent stories within the very essence of the work.” The seductive and layered surfaces may suggest a deeper exploration of issues of submission, oppression and domesticity. “I explore the additive and subtractive qualities of actually creating apertures on the picture plane and then sewing them back in or leaving openings to create illuminated conceptual spaces.”
She intends for these spaces to draw in the viewers, to have them observe the painstaking craft and reflect on society’s definitions of men and women, and participate in the dialogue to reshape those definitions. “For me, the work succeeds when the audience leaves contemplating the interaction of concept, process and medium.”
Photos courtesy Canvas Gallery
