“There is such a benefit to just slowing down and being quiet. Taking time and focus to look inwards, to sit and breathe quietly, to meditate, to contemplate. There's a real power in reclaiming time for yourself.”
Zarah Hussain
We are delighted to announce our upcoming exhibition of paintings by Zarah Hussain (b.1980). Breath is Hussain's first solo-exhibition at the gallery. The show opens with a reception from 6 - 8pm on Wednesday, 6 July, and continues until Friday, 29 July 2022.
In these works, Zarah explores the principles of geometry and mathematics, to guide the viewer into a moment of deep contemplation and stillness. In their pairs, the paintings represent inhalation and exhalation, as well as the pauses in between. Many of these works were exhibited at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, USA in 2020/2021.
Another painting from this series is on display at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London from 21 June - 21 August. Her work was chosen for the prestigious annual exhibition by British artist Grayson Perry CBE RA.
"My training was in Islamic art. My work is in the tradition of Islamic geometric design but I'm changing it. I'm using the same spiritual ideas of contemplation, meditation, of repetition of pattern. The paintings are a symbolic interpretation of breathing, the inhale and the exhale.
"I'm drawn to the geometry in Islamic art because I like maths. Researching these works a number that came up a lot was 5.5 seconds, which is the length of the perfect breath. [Hussain created an animation for the PEM exhibition that employed this timeframe]
"I had an operation to correct my breathing… I had to learn how to breathe again. It felt very relevant at the time. In a way, making the breath paintings, sitting at home and having the time to create this body of work was a really nice thing. It really helped actually. To be able to breathe unincumbered and go about your life is quite a privilege. I hope that when people come to visit the exhibition they'll get a contemplative, meditative, relaxing experience in the gallery."
Zarah Hussain, 2021
