This solo show at SOAS focuses on Singaporewala‘s explorations of the religion he was brought up in, Zoroastrianism. In this post I look at his interpretation of the Ses, kept by the household for prayer and protection. It consists of four items on a tray: the soparo (sugar container representing the alegorical Mount Hara), pigani […]
Exhibitions
Cosmos, Memory, Scale: Karl Singaporewala at SOAS Gallery. Post 1 of 2.
This solo show at SOAS explores the religion Singaporewala was brought up in, Zoroastrianism. I will concentrate in this post on 3 pieces I found quite profound as well as enchanting: Thoughts, Words and Deeds. A core tenet of Zoroastrianism is Humata, Hukhta, Huvarshta: “Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds”. Those who have watched the […]
Dirty Looks at the Barbican Gallery. Post 2 of 2.
This show, Dirty Looks: Desire & Decay in Fashion, currently on at The Barbican, covers many aspects of contemporary fashion’s fascination with desire and dirt, historically known as la nostalgie de la boue. The dresses above were buried with iron filings, letting chemical reactions do their work, before being exhumed and are from the early […]
Dirty Looks at the Barbican Gallery. Post 1 of 2.
This show, Dirty Looks: Desire & Decay in Fashion, currently on at The Barbican, covers many aspects of contemporary fashion’s fascination with dirt and desire, historically known as la nostalgie de la boue. Life time and the body itself all conspire against the perfection that fashion can aspire to. Solitude Studios bury fabric into peat […]
Encounters: Giacometti and Mona Hatoum. Barbican
This exhibition is the second in a series of three, where contemporary artists engage with the work of Alberto Giacometti. Titled Encounters, they are at the Barbican’s new gallery on level 2. I wrote about the first one in an earlier post which featured Huma Bhabha. This time it is the turn of British-Palestinian artist […]
Jenny Saville at the National Portrait Gallery
The Anatomy of Painting, Jenny Saville‘s retrospective at the National Portrait Gallery was one of the must-see shows of the summer for anyone interested in painting. The exhibition covers her career from early works including this piece below, Propped, one of her graduate show paintings. It was originally displayed opposite a mirror to enable the […]