MALINA SULIMAN
Born in 1990 in Kandahar, Malina Suliman is one of a small number of female artists who have emerged from war-ravaged Afghanistan.
After studying Fine Art in Pakistan, Suliman was inspired by the potential of street art. When she began working as a street artist in Kandahar, her work garnered global attention. One of her most iconic motifs was the skeletal form dressed in a blue burqa which highlighted the issues of identity, inequality, and oppression in Afghanistan.
Suliman is also a founder of the Kandahar Fine Arts Association.
BEYOND THE VEIL – A DECONTEXTUALISATION
BY MALINA SULIMAN
28 MAY - 27 AUGUST 2015
Art Represent presents the first UK solo exhibition of Afghani artist Malina Suliman
London UK: For its inaugural exhibition, Art Represent will present the first UK solo show of Afghani artist Malina Suliman titled Beyond The Veil – A Decontextualisation which will run from 28 May until 27 August 2015.
Born in 1990 in Kandahar, Malina Suliman is one of a small number of female artists who have emerged from war-ravaged Afghanistan. After studying Fine Art in Pakistan, Suliman was inspired by the potential of street art. When she began working as a street artist in Kandahar, her work garnered global attention. One of her most iconic motifs was the skeletal form dressed in a blue burqa which highlighted the issues of identity, inequality, and oppression in Afghanistan.
Beyond The Veil – A Decontextualisation, created with the support of Art Represent, marks a new direction in the artist’s career. Bringing together, sound, video and substituting the graffiti wall for a burqa, Suliman’s decontextualisation of this highly charged item of clothing reminds us of how context can shift meaning.
From the banal to the poignant, the space is filled with the hopes and wishes of Afghans alongside a collection of international voices captured by the artist. A selection of these can be seen in Persian calligraphy on the burqas, now stripped back to their basic form as a piece of material. These are accompanied by two juxtaposing video pieces featuring burqa-clad women filmed discretely walking through the streets of Kabul and Amsterdam. In the former the item of clothing, enforced by the Taliban, is commonplace; in the latter, where a partial ban was very recently passed, the women are heavily scrutinised by passers by.
Art Represent is the only platform dedicated to empowering artists who are affected or displaced by conflict and social upheaval. Our aim is to showcase their work, challenging a prevailing perception of conflict that has been defined by the popular media. Artists are chosen on the merit of their work, rather than fetishized for their personal experiences.
Art Represent connects artists to an international audience and network of collectors through an online commercial platform, providing them with an infrastructure. Funded through the online commercial platform, a strong curatorial programme at the Art Represent space in East London gives artists the opportunity to showcase their work and put creative practice at the heart of all projects.
Malina Suliman currently resides in The Netherlands.
The exhibition will be on view from 28 May until 27 August, 2015 at Art Represent, 264 Globe Road, London E2 0JD.
View by appointment: admin@artrepresent.com
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