"Self portraits" is Shirazeh Houshiary's first exhibition in London for six years and
the first ever in Europe to be dedicated exclusively to her work on canvas. Born
and raised in Iran, Houshiary came to London in 1974 to study at Chelsea Art
College. After graduating, she rapidly established herself as one of the leading
sculptors of her generation. Her early work comprised of welded and patinated
metal forms reminiscent of Islamic calligraphy whilst her more recent work, lead
lined containers, patterned within in gold, silver and copper, drew on the Islamic
tradition of sacred geometry. During the last five years she has produced only
three sculptures, the most important of which is a large tower in lead and gold in
front of Sheffield Cathedral which is still in progress.
Read moreThose who know Shirazeh’s work well might be surprised by the direction it has
taken. Recently she has explained that she had begun to feel trapped by her
sculptural practice which relied increasingly on outside fabrication and yearned to
return to a more private process thus dedicating herself to works on canvas.
Houshiary’s first works on canvas date back to 1992. Deservedly they were
given equal prominence to her sculpture at the Camden Art Centre (1993) and
the Turner Prize exhibition (1994). Houshiary will immerse herself in one of the
larger canvases for five to six weeks, executing the graphite "drawing" in a slow
dance around the canvas, laid on the floor, or bending into it as if in prayer.
These are not fashionable gestures toward shamanism, but part of a practical
process which has evolved naturally over the years. In her earlier work the
"marks" with which she created geometric patterns on the canvas were
composed of minutely composed sacred words, repeated like a mantra. In the
more recent works, words and forms have dissolved and light has been released.
These "self portraits" cannot be described as paintings or defined as drawings. It
is as if Houshiary has divested the canvas of all its painterly associations and
returned it to its natural state as cloth from which an image will imperceptively
emerge. The image permeates the fabric, is neither depicted nor delineated the
artist is haunted by the idea of Veronica’s veil. The canvas is masked with a
uniform coat of paint. Diaphanous glazes create a new warp and weft. The
shimmering surface entices the spectator towards a veil traced in graphite. As
the veil dissolves, the spectator is ensnared in an ephemeral moment, the light
pulsating within the canvas. These works have not been idly described as self
portraits. The presence of the artist may be as vestigial as traces of breath on the
surface of a mirror but her feelings are palpable. It is not surprising that such
fragile work should defy every attempt to photograph and reproduce it. Our
experience of a self portrait by Houshiary remains as intimate as the process of
its creation.
