Opening
Saturday may 26th, 17PM-20PM
COSMIC BEACH
Syncretism is the combining of different (often contradictory) beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought, especially in the theology and mythology of religion. This idea of the mythology of myth, like a hall of mirrors that reflects back truth through its multiple angles, is the framework for Cosmic Beach.
The use of the filmic technique of montage in the construction of Dawood’s paintings points to the various layers of meaning, history and possibility that embody his practice and research into the contrapuntal possibilities of fiction. In ‘Four Sides, 2012’, for example, a Mayan pyramid appears to erupt from stylised South Asian motorcycle advertising, allowing unrelated ideas to become threaded together through their juxtaposition, while in ‘Come, sweet death, with madness marked and end the sceneless revelry, 2012’, the title of the work is taken from an Allen Ginsberg poem. Here Dawood engages with notions of death and resurrection, which can be linked to the re-use and re-appropriation of vintage Pakistani textiles as the surface for these textile paintings.
Shezad Dawood
Shezad Dawood was born in London in 1974 and trained at Central St Martin’s and the Royal College of Art before undertaking a PhD at Leeds Metropolitan University.
Dawood is one of the winners of the 2011 Abraaj Capital Art Prize. His work has been exhibited internationally, including as part of ‘Altermodern’, curated by Nicolas Bourriaud, at Tate Britain, and the 53rd Venice Biennale (both 2009), and the Busan Biennale in Korea (2010).
Check Dawood's website for more information about the artist.
More information
Gallery opened: Wed - Sat: 12PM - 18PM
Check the website of the gallery for more information.