Lot 191: TAZEEN QAYYUM (B. 1973)

TAZEEN QAYYUM (B. 1973)
Untitled
signed in Urdu and dated in English '2007' (lower left)
watercolor, gouache, ink stamp, ink and graphite on wasli paper
Sheet size: 17½ x 12¾ in. (44.5 x 32.4 cm.); Image size: 15½ x 10½ in. (39.4 x 26.7 cm.)
Executed in 2007

At first glance, the work of the Pakistani artist, Tazeen Qayyum may appear decorative. However, upon closer inspection the beautiful textures, delicate colors and intricate designs coalesce to reveal a poignant political commentary on war and terror. Working within the tradition of Indian miniature painting the artist updates and revamps the genre by combing various artistic methods - such as machine printing and hand painting - and materials - like printed matter and hand crafted elements - to create her pictorial compositions. This approach, as identified by artist and critic Quddus Mirza, "blends two parts in such a manner that a new and independent narrative is created." (Quddus Mirza, A Different Kind of Animal, The News, Karachi, 24 September 2006)
In this work Qayyum uses a rubber ink stamp to create a whimsical yet grotesque pyramid of cockroaches that she then hand paints. Here each cockroach, the modern day locust, represents the faceless soldiers, government officials, terrorists and innocent bystanders that anonymously and involuntarily configure the current political, social and cultural views of war and the hierarchy of power that stems from them. On a formal level, the pyramid of cockroaches is the visible effect of a rubber stamp made on a surface by pressure. The artist's choice to use a rubber stamp to make the impression subversively suggests her desire to stamp out and destroy all traces of anti-Muslim sentiment generated by Eastern and Western power struggles. Furthermore, by hand painting each cockroach in vibrant gem-like blue and purple hues, Qayyum shrouds her political commentaries behind a decorative screen reminding us that in a time when it is unclear who the enemy is, things are not always what they appear to be.