article - Jhaveri Contemporary

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Space craft
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Model behaviour Mohammed Qasim
Ashfaq's glossy maquettes
If Mohammed Qasim Ashfaq’s
glossy black maquettes inspire
you to think about intergalactic
adventure, the artist has hit his
mark. Their futuristic shapes,
immaculate polished exteriors
and lack of visible seams are
meant to make these models for
large-scale sculptures resemble
objects that may have arrived from
another planet. “I joke that they are
spacecrafts that have landed on
Earth and have somehow ended up
in the gallery,” Ashfaq told Time Out
in a telephone interview from his
studio in London. Such imaginary
indulgences, which stem from
Ashfaq’s interest in science fiction,
guide the creation of his otherworldly
artworks. It isn’t surprising then that
the title of his India debut – Make
Me a Black Hole and I Will Believe
You – plays with one of the biggest
mysteries of the universe.
The highlight of this show at
art consultant Amrita Jhaveri’s
eponymous gallery in Walkeshwar,
are the five maquettes which were
shown in Ashfaq’s first solo show
in London this April. Just as in the
first exhibition, the maquettes will
be displayed on a table, with some
suspended in the air and others
leaning precariously, creating a
mini-cosmic landscape of their
own. “When we were going to install
the show in London, I thought that
it would be great if we had Yoda to
levitate the sculptures,” said the
29-year-old artist of Pakistani origin.
In the absence of a supernatural
force, the maquettes hang with the
help of transparent string.
Ashfaq’s sculptural models, which
were made in a specialised foundry
to obtain the finish that obviates all
traces of the human hand, have their
own laborious history. In his studio,
the artist first makes a sketch of
each angular maquette or model
with three dimensions. He then
gives shape to these drawings by
sticking pieces of metallic cardboard
together, repeating the exercise until
he has a model that can be handed
over to the foundry. “I have to draw
an object to completely understand
it,” said Ashfaq, explaining his
preference for traditional tools
over software that allows 3D
visualisation. Part of his fascination
for using mechanical pencils,
compasses and rulers, despite his
poor aptitude for mathematics,
Ashfaq said, can be traced to his
father’s practice as an engineer.
Though he specialised in painting,
the artist has been working on
maquettes for over a decade, with
the hope that he will eventually
see some of his pieces in fullscale. “There is an anxiety about
seeing them realised someday,”
said Ashfaq. While the works are
displayed in galleries for now, the
ideal place to showcase them would
be in the outdoors (much like Anish
Kapoor’s polished stainless steel
sculptures) where they can reflect
and contort their surroundings. So
far, Ashfaq has shown one such fullyrealised project titled Rod in a park in
the UK, which he presented “as the
first object in a series of falling stars
piercing the ground”.
Like Rod, most of Ashfaq’s
solid, shiny models have distinct
angular shapes that are inspired
by traditional geometric patterns
used in Islamic monuments. The
interest is laid bare in How Dirty
Is Your Glossy Black? III, a sitespecific work for which Ashfaq has
recreated a traditional pattern
using aluminium tape. “I’m trying
to push the geometry beyond
ornamentation,” said Ashfaq. “I
use it to introduce contemplation in
my work.” The repetitive nature of
Islamic geometric patterns, meant
to evoke the spiritual idea of infinity,
is a theme that Ashfaq attempts
to capture in his work. A set of five
drawings that lend their name to
the title of the show is built on this
idea. The works are made by drawing
hundreds of lines close together
using a ruler. In style, the dense
pencil drawings, with their crystallike abstractions, tie together the
distinctly sci-fi maquettes with the
traditional Islamic patterns used in
the site-specific installation.
The drawings, as do the other
works in the show which have a
black polish or a silver sheen,
exhibit Ashfaq’s meditations on
light and its absence, giving his
work a sacred quality. “When I am
working, I feel in the same place
as when I am praying,” he said. “I
do see the sacredness within my
works. Perhaps it’s because their
composition makes them really
beautiful and pure. That’s what
makes them more than
just objects.”
Make Me a Black Hole and
I Will Believe You Opens on
Wed Sep 14 at Amrita Jhaveri.
Art
Mohammed Qasim Ashfaq’s
shiny models are inspired by
Islamic monuments and look
like objects from outer space,
finds Zeenat Nagree.
Galleries and other venues are listed by geographical area. Listings
relating to photography, architecture and design are at the end of
the section. Exhibition listings
also include information on related activities. Events comprise student shows, lectures, performances and screenings. Admission for
all art venues is free unless otherwise stated. Venues are shut on
public holidays and Sundays,
unless otherwise stated.
* denotes an exhibition we
recommend.
G denotes the nearest train
station.
 denotes the name of the
nearest bus stop.
If you want to be listed
Submit information by mail
(Time Out, Essar House, PO Box
7964, 11 KK Marg, Mahalaxmi,
Mumbai 400 034), email ([email protected]) or fax
(6660-1112) to Zeenat Nagree .
Include details of event, dates,
timings, address of venue, nearest train station and bus stop, telephone number and any entry fee.
Time Out is a fortnightly publication, appearing on the stands every other Thursday. Deadline for
information is ten days before
publication. Listings are free, but
inclusion cannot be guaranteed
due to limited space.
Nariman Point
to Colaba
Art Musings
Cube KS Radhakrishnan, Paresh
Maity, S Nandagopal, Sakti Burman
and Satish Gujral show sculptures.
Until Wed Sept 14.
1 Admiralty Building, opposite
Dunne’s Institute, Colaba Cross Lane,
Colaba (2216-3339). G Churchgate
(WR), CST (CR Main & Harbour).
v Sassoon Dock. Daily 10am-7pm.
Artists’ Centre
Group Show Paintings by artists
from the Asha Sadan Rescue Home.
Until Sun Sept 4.
Solo Show Paintings by Pramila
Salian. Mon Sept 5-Sun Sept 11.
Solo Show Bhausaheb Nanaware
shows paintings. From Mon Sept 12.
Ador House, First Floor, 6 K Dubash
Marg, Kala Ghoda (2284-5939).
G Churchgate (WR), CST (CR Main
& Harbour). v Museum. Daily
10am-6.30pm.
Chatterjee & Lal
The Lost Movement Travel back in
time with a show of works from 1939
to 1956 by artists who studied at the
Sir JJ School of Art. These students
were so influenced by Jagannath
Ahivasi, the dean of the painting
department whose style was rooted in
September 2 – 15 2011 www.timeoutmumbai.net 167
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