Humaira Abid | Red

New Works 2011

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march 3 - april 30, 2011

Special Thanks to Cora Edmonds Lauren Davis Salwat Ali Alida Latham Adeel Ahmad Begum & A.H. Abid

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culpture, dormant for the last many years in the Pakistani art milieu is now being rejuvenated by new generation artists. Their free and fluent use of nontraditional expressions has brought a postmodern accent to the genre. Particularly striking is the role of young female artists/ sculptors who are highlighting a woman’s point of view by reiterating their focus on the body as the site for multiple debates. Through provocative conjunction of text, image, sculptural forms and subtle use of unconventional means and media they are giving feminist polemics a formal language in art. The ongoing social and political chaos in Pakistan is also spiking this emergent art with volatile metaphors and the overlap of the personal with the political is now a recurring feature.

Making work that addresses the ongoing issue of what it means to be a contemporary artist and a woman Humaira Abid’s recent sculpture collection, Red, comes across as a graphic ventilation of a personal trial, which, if read on a wider scale, also translates into national tribulations, in certain pieces. Essentially a sculptor, who chooses to use wood as her primary medium Abid’s carvings, carrying elements of lathe turning and wood art, are refined, sensuous pieces that invite extended engagement. Configured in the literal mannerism the pieces, imbued with a feminine perspective, speak as much of intricate working skills as they do of the artist’s personal signature.

Rendering intelligible the pain of longing and loss, Red, taking off from her previous Lullaby series, continues to focus on familial togetherness, impending motherhood and curtailed pregnancies.

Balancing the twin attributes of surface interest and emotive content her sculptures penetrate into and under life’s gleaming formalistic surfaces to explore the meaning of the activity we apprehend as “Life”. Primarily a personal dirge that touches chords with many would be mothers in similar predicaments of expectancy and disappointment Abid’s collection details the travails of aborted attempts. Sharing the intimacy of her domestic space she sculpts simple objects of daily use like his and her footwear, shirts, jackets and dresses, baby feeders, pacifiers/soothers, safety pins and hot water bottles to establish the attributes of connubial harmony, anticipation of a new arrival and the distress of termination.

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vocative as maternal metaphors, the sculptures are rendered all the more poignant with the chromatic strength of red. As a color red is primal, it is aggressive, grabs attention, intensifies emotions and stimulates conflict. Abid’s maternal instinct thwarted, in jeopardy or just squashed through the physical cessation of a pregnancy becomes pungent and defined with her conscious and deliberate use of red. Sculptures and drawings like ‘End Game’, ‘Safety Valve’ and ‘All We Need is One Fertile Egg’, are eloquent testimonials. As bloody squirts, stains, blemishes or complete coloration, red, (wood stain on sculpture and gouache on paper) in her collection, is a signifier of mental anguish and physical trauma.

As a young artist it was Abid’s uncanny ability to lift the banal and the commonplace and reinvent it with witty twists that first brought her public attention. Her debut solo in Lahore contained multiple characterizations of the simple, ovoid, egg-shaped form. The most innovative and flawlessly rendered ‘egg’ form in the series, ‘Clew in Wood’, was inspired from a ball of thread or ribbon. Abid had intricately carved a depth that is reminiscent not only of a ball of ribbon but the intertwined diversity of a woman's sensibility. “To me the egg form represents the complexity of femininity”, she had then remarked. Today the ‘egg’ connotations have evolved into maternal and reproductive issues and she continues to explore the female psyche but the gravity of her current ordeal has clouded the tongue in cheek banter that once enlivened her oeuvre. Previous fun pieces 'Eat Your Heart Out’ a huge wooden spoon with a giant heart-shaped chocolate carved into its scoop and 'Love Bites’, wooden chocolate hearts on baking trays enticing visitors to finger the morsels to check if they were edible, testified to the artist’s spontaneous sense of humor. The amusing 'Relationship' sculpture piece was inspired by the common punctuation marks of inverted commas.

Composed in mega size patterned wood, the two-some (commas) were reshuffled into snug and more intimate postures. The shift from carefree, generalized observations to serious personalized references became apparent in her work when she married and migrated to USA. As an artist in diaspora the ‘home away from home’ syndrome was evident in ‘The Journey’ collection of exquisitely carved hand and trolley bags used in travelling. Nostalgia and homesickness prompted the ‘Fountainhead’ pieces – laptop with a fountain tap sculpted in wood manifested vital internet connectivity with loved ones at home.

left to right: Clew in Wood, The Journey II, Fountainhead

n the Red show if the ‘Hamstrung’ piece, a pair of male shoes interlaced together, were humorously suggesting extreme closeness, the presence of ‘red’ shoelaces immediately marred the funniness intended. Seen in the context of Red it reminded one of a couple’s constraints and shared grief. Similarly ‘Breakdown in the Closet’, a family’s wardrobe on clothes hangers is a fetching take on parenthood but the infant’s garment stained in red spells heartache. The plugged belly of a maternal body in ‘Faces of Eve’, and intricately carved holy book stands as in the ‘Lingering Prayer’ piece, the presence of surgical scissors, pins, pills, cutters et al speak of medical procedures and dashed hopes. Her love for wood and pleasure in the written word come together in the heavily incised repeatedly worded ‘Faces of Eve’ body casts but the scripted text defining her current condition redirects the viewer towards the conceptual underpinnings of Red. Similarly the installation, ‘Hung by the Freedom of Choice’, where a pair of soothers/pacifiers is being strangled by a red cord, is as much a personal story as a national one.

A student of National College of Arts (NCA), Humaira graduated with honours in the year 2000, with a major in sculpture and a double minor in miniature painting. She also has an enduring love for classical music. The two genres, sculpture and miniature may seem to be poles apart in appearance and execution, but for Abid, the combination has worked to her advantage.

Extending the miniature mindset of intensive labour, precision, high finish and fine aesthetic values to her sculptural pieces she also continues to remain adept in miniature painting. In the Red series her clutch of drawings are a contemporary offshoot of the miniature ethos. Using controlled, fine lined contouring, immaculate brushwork and meticulous colour application she has created her version of the modern miniature.

Following a disciplined work pattern that commences with a pencil sketch followed by a plaster or clay model which is used for reference in constructing the main piece, Humaira Abid animates dead wood with meaningful form. Be it with gleaming surfaces, tapering points, inherent knots, twists and turns, or simple additions and subtractions her work begins as a relationship between wood and form, a creative endeavor to give physical shape to her concept and in doing so reveal the beauty, color, and design of the wood.

Salwat Ali contributes regularly as an art critic to Dawn Gallery, art supplement of Pakistan’s leading daily newspaper Dawn and Artline, the special art pages of the magazine Newsline.

In 2005 Fomma (Foundation for the Museum of Modern Art) published Exploring an Inner Landscape, a volume she wrote on the life and times of Laila Shahzada, a prominent woman artist of the sixties. Her award winning book Journeys of the Spirit: Pakistan Art in the New Millennium (2000-2005) was published by Fomma in 2008. A 2011 Fomma publication, Making Waves: Contemporary Art in Pakistan (2006 -2010) is her most recent volume.

pine wood, rope, paint and graphite 132 x 44 x 11 inches

pine wood and red wood stain 41 x 28 x 14 inches

mahogany and pine wood with red wood stain 33.5 x 24 x 20 inches

pine wood and red wood stain 66 x 5.5 x 5.5 inches

graphite and gouache on wasli paper 9.7 x 6.5 inches

graphite and gouache on wasli paper 13.2 x 8.4 inches

graphite and gouache on wasli paper 9 x 9 inches

graphite and gouache on wasli paper 17 x 9 inches

graphite and gouache on wasli paper 12 x 10 inches

pine wood and red wood stain 18 x 15 x 10 inches

pine wood, copper wire, bronze and red wood stain 64 x 16.5 x 3.5 inches

pine wood and red wood stain 72 x 48 x 5.5 inches

mahogany and pine wood with red wood stain and stainless steel 96 x 72 x 36 inches

pine wood and red wood stain 12 x 8.5 x 4 inches

EDUCATION 2000 Honours Graduate, National College of Arts, Lahore, Pakistan Major: Sculpture. Double Minor: Miniature Painting SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2011 RED, ArtXchange Gallery, Seattle, WA 2010 Sculptures by Humaira Abid, Chawkandi Art Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan 2009-10 Lullaby, Rohtas ll, Lahore, Pakistan; Khaas Art, Islamabad, Pakistan; Showcase Art Gallery,

Dubai, United Arab Emirates 2007 Love Games, Sandra Phillips Art Gallery, Denver, CO 2006 Inner Concerto, Canvas Art Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan 2004 Directions, V.M. Art Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan 2004 Rose Relationships, Rohtas II, Lahore and Khaas Art Gallery, Islamabad, Pakistan 2003 Hidden Perspectives, Rohtas II, Lahore, Pakistan SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2010-2012 In Family Unity – Unity of the World, a traveling group show in Russia and Europe 2010 Women and Art 2010, Sharjah Art Museum, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates 2009 Five Women Show, Rohtas ll, Lahore, Pakistan 2007 Group Exhibition, National Art Gallery, Islamabad, Pakistan 2007 Group Exhibition, Kuona Trust, Naivasha, Kenya 2005 Art For a Noble Cause Group Exhibition, Ejaz Art Gallery, Lahore, Pakistan 2005 Contemporary Chronicles in Miniature–Art from Pakistan and India, Art-Alive Gallery,

New Delhi, India 2005 Group Exhibition, Sarawak Museum, Kuching, Malaysia 2004 Group Exhibition, Ejaz Art Gallery, Lahore, Pakistan 2004 Partage International Artists’ Exhibition, MGI, Mauritius 2003 Scope X, NCA Faculty Exhibition, Zahoor ul Akhlaque Gallery, Lahore, Pakistan 2003 Negotiating Borders: Contemporary Miniatures from Pakistan, Siddharta Art Gallery,

Kathmandu, Nepal 2003 Group Exhibition, Canvas Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan 2002 Group Exhibition, Rohtas I, Islamabad, Pakistan 2002 Group Exhibition, Rohtas II, Lahore, Pakistan 2001 Group Exhibition, Gallery NCA, National College of Arts, Lahore, Pakistan 2001 Punjab Artists’ Association Exhibition, Lahore Arts Council, Lahore, Pakistan

ART BIENNIAL, Residencies & Symposia 2009 Bolivia Art Biennial, La Paz, Bolivia 2008 International Wood Sculptors Symposium, Annaberg-Buchholz, Germany 2007 2nd International Women Artists Workshop, Kenya 2006 Artist in Residence, Europos Parkas, Museum of Central Europe, Lithuania 2005 Sculpture Symposium, Sarawak Museum, Kuching, Malaysia 2004 Artist in Residence, Garhi Artists’ Studios, Lalitkala Academy, New Delhi, India 2004 Partage, International Artists Workshop, Flic en Flac, Mauritius RECENT ARTICLES AND PUBLICATIONS • Carving from a Domesticated Space (Nukta Art, Biannual contemporary art magazine of Pakistan, May 2010 ) • Humaira Celebrates Womanhood in Woodwork (The News, Pakistan, Nov. 17, 2009) • Sentiments Sculpted (Dawn, November 27, 2009) • Material Concerns (The News, November 8, 2009) • Sculpting a Lullaby (Daily Times, November 7, 2009) • Exhibition of Wood Sculptures at Rohtas (Dawn, Pakistan, November 7, 2009) • Wood Made Good (Book: ‘Journeys of the Spirit, Pakistani Art in the New Millennium’ by Salwat Ali, Published 2008) • Profis Schaffen Exotische Skulpturen (BLICK, Germany, June 18, 2008) • Humaira Abid, Eloquent Expressions in Sculpture and Painting (Sculptural Pursuit Magazine, Summer Issue 2007) • The Wooden Look (The News, Pakistan, May 28, 2006) • Of Birds and Birdsongs (Dawn Gallery, Pakistan, June 3, 2006) • Flights of Fantasy (Newsline, Pakistan, June 2006) • Miniature Linkages (Hindustan Times, India, Sep 28, 2005) • Iron Willed (India Today, India, September 2005) • Connections (Outlook Raves, Malaysia, August 8, 2005) • Carving a Niche (The Hindu, India, November 16, 2004) • Chip Off the Block (Friday Times, Pakistan, October 8-14, 2004) • Creative Directions (The News, Pakistan, September 25, 2004) • Moving in All Directions (Dawn Gallery, Pakistan, September 25, 2004) • The Language of Images (The News, Pakistan, May 9, 2004) • Humaira’s Wonderful World of Wood Sculptures Goes on Display (The News International, Pakistan, April 28, 2004) • Rose Relationships (The Nation, Pakistan, April 23, 2004) • Egged on by Passion (Dawn Gallery, Pakistan, April 12, 2003) • Beginning with the Egg (The News, Pakistan, March 23, 2003) • The Wisdom in Wood (NEWSMONTH, Pakistan, March 2003) • Hidden Perspectives in Wood (Dawn, Pakistan, March 22, 2003) • Soft Hands, Firm Expression (The Nation, Pakistan, March 17, 2003) SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTON • Daetz Centre (Museum of Sculpture in Wood), Lichtenstein, Germany • National Art Gallery and Museum. Islamabad, Pakistan • Rangoon Wala Trust, V.M. Art Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan • Partage Contemporary Artists Association, Mauritius • Khas Art Gallery, Islamabad, Pakistan • Kuona Tust International, Nairobi, Kenya • Canvas Art Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan • Sarawak Living Museum, Sarawak, Malaysia

Credits Cover image: Petty Patriotism, graphite and gouache on wasli paper (9.7 x 6.5 inches) Photography: Adeel Ahmad Design: Islanda Khau, Gallery Designer Š 2011 ArtXchange Gallery No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent from ArtXchange Gallery and the artist.