anila quayyum agha casts a delicate web of shadows with a single light bulb

anila quayyum agha casts a delicate web of shadows with a single light bulb
laser-cut wood, single light bulb, 6.5′ square cube / cast shadows – 32’x34′
image courtesy of sarah’s throne

winner of both the public and juried vote of artprize 2014, pakistani artist anila quayyum agha exercises the architecture of the grand rapids art museum in michigan by infilling it with a dynamic interplay of shadow and light. ‘intersections’ comprises a 6.5-foot laser-cut wooden cube pierced with carefully crafted patterns and illuminated from the inside, which casts expansive, lace-like geometries onto the surrounding walls, ceiling and floor.

visitors sit within the large-scale shadows cast on the walls
image courtesy of grand rapids art museum

‘intersections’ mirrors the geometrical patterning present in islamic sacred spaces
image courtesy of artprize

‘intersections’ mirrors the geometrical patterning present in islamic sacred spaces, and is derived from the artists own experiences growing up in pakistan. ‘the wooden frieze emulates a pattern from the alhambra, which was poised at the intersection of history, culture and art and was a place where islamic and western discourses, met and co-existed in harmony and served as a testament to the symbiosis of difference’, quayyum agha explains. ‘for me the familiarity of the space visited at the alhambra palace and the memories of another time and place from my past, coalesced in creating this project.’

the installation comprises a 6.5-foot laser-cut wooden cube, pierced with carefully crafted patterns
image courtesy of artprize

a single light illuminates the sculpture
image courtesy of artprize

image by carol lautenbach / courtesy of grand rapids art museum

image courtesy of grand rapids art museum

visitors are immersed in a web of intricately shaped shadows
(left) image courtesy of anila quayyum agha; (right) image courtesy of artprize

the grand rapids art museum is infilled with shadow and light
image courtesy of anila quayyum agha

patterns carved into the wood reference those found within islamic sacred spaces
(left) image courtesy of sarah’s throne; (right) image courtesy of artprize