Reframing the Looking-Glass Duo Exhibition by cuturigallery

Cuturi Gallery is a next generation art gallery founded on the belief that art should be empowering and meaningful for everyone. A curator of change and a custodian of artistic diversity, Cuturi Gallery is a challenger of vested interests and of the status quo, pushing the boundaries of how galleries operate. The gallery connects broad audiences to high-quality art by diverse talents that speaks to the heart and tells the story of an undiscovered generation of aspiring artists that will have the art world aching for more. Diminishing aristocratic traditions and providing transparency in an art world that is at times daunting, Cuturi Gallery presents an inclusive and democratised art ecosystem which fosters greater collaboration, understanding and appreciation of art amongst artists, collectors and the industry at large.

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Cuturi Gallery is proud to present a duo exhibition, Reframing the Looking-Glass, by Aisha Rosli and Xu Yang. With the title adapted from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, the exhibition features

local Singaporean artist, Rosli, and London-based Chinese artist, Xu, who reframes the looking glass to fashion their respective fantasies, each built upon their realities and personal histories. The figurative paintings of Aisha Rosli are carefully constructed fantasies, each a projection of the artist’s mindscapes onto canvas through the use of confined spaces and anxiety-ridden bodies. The women, imprisoned by fear, take the form of distorted bodies where these exaggerated limbs become sites of psychological trauma. The feeling of anxiety is further enforced by their warped surroundings, where checkered floors and patterned wallpaper turn fluid, engulfing Rosli’s characters in waves of panic and discomfort. The women struggle to keep balance as they navigate daunting situations paved by uneven floors and decaying walls. We peer into the dark rooms of Rosli’s light washes of greens and reds which hold bruised translucent bodies of struggling women. The artist situates her subjects to evoke anxiety and fear within her audience. This is seen in Drowning in Denial (2021), where a woman is placed clinging onto the corner of a round table, her arms distorting as they press into the glass sheet while her crooked fingers fail to find grip on the smooth surface. Lit candles sit on the edge of a separate table mirroring the woman’s plight as it melts onto the fabric. The woman will need to let go and absorb the risk of hurting herself to blow out the candles to avoid the room from being engulfed in flames. These ways of escape are present in Rosli’s constructed prisons, but

the

characters

choose

remain

trapped,

unable

make

the

decision.

It is this choice to exist within the twisted familiar than to face the unavoidable reality that is awaiting them, that creates the tension within Rosli’s paintings.

We enter the fantasy of Xu Yang, a vividly coloured warped mirror to that of Rosli’s, which manifests as elaborate stages of composing elements from her childhood and art history. They become a response to her personal history growing up in China, where self-expression was controlled and monitored. Migrating to the UK to study Fine Arts at the age of 18, the artist found solace in the London

drag

community

which

encourages

and

celebrates

self-expression.

Xu Yang, inspired by 18th-century Rococo-style paintings which featured women with stacked wigs and corsets to enhance their femininity, viewed this painting style as a form of drag. Freedom of expression takes the form of constructed identities, pink unicorns, and lavish dresses in Xu Yang’s paintings as a way to reposition women’s bodies away from the male gaze and to challenge and rattle the social order. Through embracing her fantasy, Xu provokes her audience to question the position of women in society today. Bodies are rendered faceless through the reflections of old worn-out mirrors and the use of masks. This erasure becomes a way to deliberately strip these women of their identities. These blurred faces are regular inhabitants of Xu’s paintings. They allow for self-reflection by inviting the audience to project themselves and their personal experiences onto these intimate works. This opens up the possibilities that come with reimagining the present world we live in along with the places we hold in it. Red velvet curtains drape over mirrors, coat floors, and envelop Xu Yang’s subjects. The artist embraces the red pigment which is known to symbolise power, masculinity, and success to touch on feminist topics. Exquisite mirrors lined with golden frames are recurring objects in Xu Yang’s paintings and are used to create fictional spaces that capture and emulate the fantasies that exist within each of us. Locks of golden hair and fabric from pink dresses spill out from within the golden frames

onto

checkered

floors

breaking

the

divide

between

fantasy

and

reality.

Historically charged symbols of masculinity are repositioned and re-contextualised in Xu Yang’s paintings, transforming them into symbols of women empowerment to provoke a feminist discourse. This is seen in Taking Control (2021) where the swan, a strong reference to Zeus who is known for his abuse in mythology, is removed from its usual dominating position and is rendered motionless in the arms of a woman as she takes back the power and control. A doll sits on the edge of the table leaning against a bouquet of roses in Peacock, Roses, Mirror and Doll (2021). It becomes a personal symbol and link to Xu Yang’s childhood, a nostalgic reminder of simpler times. The doll is reflected in the looking glass to reveal a silhouette of a woman in the distance. This dream of one day becoming the Rococo doll is realised through the mirror but she is unfocused and blurred which reinforces that this is nothing more than an illusion, a projection of a future that has not been realised. Xu Yang and Aisha Rosli both draw from within, bravely exposing their personal histories through these carefully constructed warped versions of their realities. The two artists reposition the female body away from the male gaze to touch on contemporary issues faced in society today.

Text by Kara Inez.

REFRAMING THE LOOKING-GLASS: AISHA ROSLI

Endless Conversation, 2021 Acrylic, oil and pastels on linen 61 x 46 cm

REFRAMING THE LOOKING-GLASS: AISHA ROSLI

Drowning in Denial, 2021 Acrylic, oil and pastels on linen 102 x 76 cm

REFRAMING THE LOOKING-GLASS: AISHA ROSLI

It Takes A Lot To Laugh, 2021 Acrylic, oil and pastels on linen 46 x 61 cm

REFRAMING THE LOOKING-GLASS: AISHA ROSLI

Honey Thighs, 2021 Acrylic and oil on canvas 40 x 30 cm

REFRAMING THE LOOKING-GLASS: AISHA ROSLI

How Do You Sleep, 2021 Acrylic and oil on linen 61 x 46 cm

REFRAMING THE LOOKING-GLASS: AISHA ROSLI

Poor Little Fool, 2021 Oil and pastels on linen 76.5 x 61 cm

REFRAMING THE LOOKING-GLASS: AISHA ROSLI

In Her Linen and Pearls, 2021 Acrylic, oil and pastels on linen 150 x 120 cm

REFRAMING THE LOOKING-GLASS: AISHA ROSLI

Oh, She’s Foggy, 2021 Acrylic and oil on linen 150 x 120 cm

REFRAMING THE LOOKING-GLASS: AISHA ROSLI

Old Green Chair, 2021 Oil on linen 51 x 40.5 cm