114-115 / 188
113
112
NOVEMBER 2016 | THE TIES THAT BIND
Of primary interest to Qureshi’s art is the female
figure, “Isolated female figures foreground layered
imagery appropriated from colonial photography,
patterns from textiles, silhouettes and botanical
paintings. Qureshi often inserts these lone females
into examples of iconic South Asian miniatures
- an art form known to be male dominated. By
depicting figures painted in ghostly outlines she maps
history’s erasures and in this way Qureshi questions
recorded historical truths.” (“Nusra Latif Qureshi,”
suttongallery.com.au, online)
99
NUSRA LATIF QURESHI
(b. 1973)
Resonable Acts of Compliance-II
Signed in Urdu; signed, dated
and inscribed 'Nusra Latif /
Melbourne 2005 / REASONABLE
ACTS OF COMPLIANCE- II /
2005' (on the reverse)
2005
Acrylic and gouache on wasli
paper paper
10.75 x 8 in (27.2 x 20.3 cm)
$ 4,550 - 6,065
Rs 3,00,000 - 4,00,000
PROVENANCE:
Green Cardamom, London
EXHIBITED:
Acts of Compliance: Paintings by
Nusra Latif Qureshi
, London: Green
Cardamom, 2005
Beyond the Page: Contemporary Art
from Pakistan
, London: Manchester
Art Gallery and Shisha, 30
September - 14 January 2007
PUBLISHED:
Anita Dawood-Nasar ed.,
Acts of
Compliance: Paintings by Nusra Latif
Qureshi
, London: Green Cardamom,
2005, p. 18 (illustrated)
Anita Dawood and Hammad Nasar
eds.,
Beyond the Page: Contemporary
Art from Pakistan
, London:
Asia House, Green Cardamom,
Manchester Art Gallery and Shisha,
2007, p. 9
Pakistani artist Nusra Latif Qureshi used her training
in the Mughal miniature painting tradition to visualise
a contemporary art practice that reappropriates the
very same tradition and contextualises its motifs,
patterns and subjects into a new narrative. In doing
so, she questions colonial history and stereotypes, as
well as gender identities. “For Nusra, miniatures have
provided the tool for political and social commentary.
The tradition is temporally altered to insert a modern
iconographical charge to put current issues of political
and social realms under scrutiny. With the historical
legacy of the Mughal miniatures being a visual treat, it
also embodied a state propaganda. Nusra re-interprets
this potent historical notion of statist agenda and
inverts it to reflect contemporary concerns.” (“Nusra
Latif Qureshi,”
artsome.co, online)
98
NUSRA LATIF QURESHI
(b. 1973)
Forty Days of Vigilance
Signed, dated twice and inscribed 'NuslatifQ /
Melbourne 2007 / 2007' (on the reverse)
2007
Gouache, acrylic and silver on illustration board
11.75 x 15.75 in (30 x 40 cm)
$ 4,550 - 6,065
Rs 3,00,000 - 4,00,000
PROVENANCE:
Important Private Collection, North India