Dimensions: support: 1905 x 1903 x 35 mm
Copyright: © Shirazeh Houshiary | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: This is Shirazeh Houshiary's "Shroud", currently at the Tate. It's, well, mostly white. It seems so minimal, almost empty. What am I missing here? Curator: Consider the title, "Shroud." Historically, shrouds conceal, protect, and mark a transition. How might this blankness function within a gallery space saturated with imagery, particularly given Houshiary's background and the politics of visibility? Editor: So, is the emptiness a statement, a kind of protest against over-stimulation? Curator: It could be. Perhaps it's inviting a different kind of seeing, one that asks us to confront our expectations and consider the act of looking itself. What do you think the institution's role is in giving this piece meaning? Editor: That's a good question. It definitely gives the piece more weight, knowing it's in the Tate collection. Curator: Precisely. It raises questions about what art is valued, and by whom. Editor: I see. It’s more complex than I initially thought!
Comments
Join the conversation
Join millions of artists and users on Artera today and experience the ultimate creative platform.
Shroud is a square white painting. Its surface is of such a fragile nature that it is dramatically transformed by different light conditions and defies any attempt to photograph or reproduce it. The work consists of a white acrylic ground over which the artist has delicately etched minute Arabic words and phrases, expressing Sufi thoughts. She used pencil and silverpoint with varying degrees of pressure to determine the strength and weakness of the graphite application. The veil of calligraphic repetition thus produced seems to float free from the pristine white canvas.
CollectMore like this
