On my way to lunch I pass by the extraordinary gem that is the Purdue Art Gallery. An unpretentious room, painted white, with no outside windows, the gallery exhibits on a regular basis the highest quality art, from all corners of the world. Anila Agha’s tribute to the 2011 victims of natural disaster is truly moving. A lattice of red metallic threads create a space of geometric sorrow, whose fine, cutting edges change with every step. Although not very sophisticated technically, the choice of materials (metallic thread) makes sure that the lines that splice the air are perfectly vertical and do not sway with the air currents. I consider myself lucky for having the pleasure to get my daily dose of elevated art by simply walking to the food court.
About the exhibition
From the Purdue University Press Release http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/events/2011/111024GalleriesAgha.html
“The installation “A Flood of Tears” is composed of simple materials, metallic threads and needles. Red threads suspended from the ceiling represent the metaphorical depiction of water driving down from the heavens. The piece references recent floods in Pakistan and the earthquake tsunami in Japan. While water is ephemeral, beautiful and necessary for the survival of the human race, it paradoxically holds the capacity to destroy human works and lives. Needles at the ends of the threads suggest the pain associated with burying loved ones, rebuilding lives and hearts and suggests the magnitude of the process of mourning.”
From the Purdue website presentation http://www.purdue.edu/galleries/pages/exhibitions/galleries_ex_agha.shtml:
“In her art as in her life, Agha has referenced divergent geographies, languages, and cultures. Growing up in Pakistan under the restrictive gender assignations of sharia law, her “use of the needle and thread embodies an essential femaleness and represents the domestic identity of women and their ambivalent relationships to that identity.”
She mixes mediums fluently, working primarily on paper with paint, wax, dyes (often tea or coffee), collage elements, staining and calligraphy. Large-scale installations of thread, paper and/or cut cloth bring her imagery into a larger, more “male” spatial context while retaining the handcrafted quality so instinctive to her work.”