Adeela Suleman "After All it's Always Somebody Else..."
Aicon Gallery
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Adeela Suleman’s most recent body of work is a sparsely elegant suite of flattened reliefs and tableaux of interrelated elements that suggest a narrative where nature and violence intertwine in a stainless steel medium. At first sight, her visual language speaks of pastoral nature: flowers, birds, trees, leaves. Yet Suleman juxtaposes these motifs with symbols of destruction: missiles and suicide jackets. These disparate elements are placed in intriguing relationships to form oddly surreal scenes, referencing the complex nature of violence in contemporary Pakistani society.
‘After All It’s Always Somebody Else Who Dies’ is a large-scale hanging stainless-steel work, initially resembling an ornate screen composed of patterned motifs strung out in rows that are alternately reversed and flipped over. The work hangs from the ceiling, trailing slightly on the ground as a curtain might. Light streams through the negative space resulting in a display of ornate fragility. Upon closer inspection, the viewer subsequently comes to realize that the patterns are actually composed of birds lined on strings. In fact, Suleman states that the viewer may perceive these motifs as deceased birds in memoriam, perhaps akin to the scenery associated with the fallen victims of the current natural disaster in Pakistan.
Birds re-appear elsewhere in the show, and Suleman often pairs these elements of nature with symbols of destruction. Parrots perch on twigs sprouting from the sides of suicide jackets. Peacocks rest on top of missiles. Her works are full of patterns, repetitions, and symbolisms; elements of a perplexing and heavy narrative. The works can be viewed from both a symbolic vantage point about the coexistence between love of nature and the disasters of man, as well as a suggested fragmented documentary regarding the current prevalent violence within the landscape around the artist.
Born in Karachi in 1970, Adeela Suleman studied Sculpture at the Indus Valley School of Art and completed a Master’s degree in International Relations from The University of Karachi. She has participated in group and solo exhibitions worldwide, including Gallery Rohtas 2, Lahore 2008; Canvas Gallery, Karachi 2008; Aicon Gallery, New York 2008 and 2009; and the International Exhibition of Contemporary Art, Bologna, Italy 2008. The artist currently lives and works in Karachi, Pakistan. This will be Adeela Suleman’s first solo exhibition in New York.
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Schedule
from September 15, 2010 to October 16, 2010
Opening Reception on 2010-09-15 from 19:30 to 21:00