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,” Agha says.
So too, the use of embroidery as a drawing medium that both 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,” she explains.
She was born and raised in Lahore, where she completed her BFA in Textile Arts in 1991.
Having relocated to Dallas, Texas in 2000, she attended the University of North Texas and completed her MFA in Fibre Arts in 2004.
Agha has an extensive exhibition record in the USA and has won numerous awards for her artwork, such as the Fort Worth Dealers Association Award.
She also received a CICF-Efroymson Foundation Travel Grant, and the New Frontiers Travel Grant for a research trip to Pakistan for 2009.
She was an Artist in Residence at the Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, Texas and taught for three years at the college/university level in Houston.
Currently, she is the Assistant Professor of Drawing at The Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis, Indiana.
She works with mixed media, creating artwork that explores and comments on global politics, mass media, and social and gender roles in our current cultural and global scenario.
As a result, her artwork is conceptually challenging, producing more complicated weaves of thought, artistic action and social experience.
Photos courtesy VASL Art
