Untitled 

Curator: My eye is immediately drawn to the composition’s vibrant energy, the riot of colour is exhilarating. Editor: Indeed, it’s quite dazzling. What we have here is an untitled mixed media piece by Princess Fahrelnissa Zeid. There’s no date attributed to the artwork but it’s definitely an intriguing work, playing with abstraction, bold colours, and what looks like a structured, yet chaotic geometric style. Curator: Mixed media…I’m keen to know about her specific application. What kinds of paints or dyes did she use, and what was the effect she was after? The layering seems key. Also, thinking about the conditions she was creating under–the accessibility of different materials, her studio set up – that surely informed the overall composition we see here. Editor: I find myself contemplating its reception during the height of modernism. Geometric abstraction offered a visual language seemingly free from the weight of history, but was it really? Did its display in specific gallery spaces, framed by particular critical discourses, truly liberate it from socio-political baggage? Curator: These colours – the blues, reds, yellows, purples – they almost feel playful, and somewhat synthetic too. It almost seems like something almost mass produced, even though it looks so handmade. What do you think its worth is? What sort of social class consumed Zeid's artwork at this time? Editor: What a fascinating tension – the allure of the geometric, a utopian impulse clashing with the undeniable mark of the artist’s hand and also how it can also reflect the increasing globalisation of art market forces within post-war cultural exchange. Museums themselves were shifting, becoming crucial actors in constructing the narratives around artists and their creations. The display itself becomes a kind of contextual material to study. Curator: Well, I feel like my interest is piqued, particularly concerning the materiality and labor involved in creating these kinds of abstract shapes and considering Zeid's intentions within this socio-economic, material-based and labour dynamic. Editor: Absolutely. The complex layers of influence make appreciating it so much richer; these abstract lines really create a cultural puzzle of that time and context.