THE CAT PROJECT - Nazneen Ayyub Wood

About

In 2003 Nazneen Ayyub-Wood embarked on a living project which saw her transform herself for a month at a time into a cat-human. This project brought her to the attention of the influential American curator Jaishri Abichandani resulting in a public art commission from the Queens Museum in New York and supported by a grant from the British Council. For this solo exhibition at the Lewisham Arthouse the artist presents selected works from The Cat Project, including large-scale photographs, drawings and video as well as a customised display system for artefacts. The Cat Project is a project in three parts. In November 2003 in New York, the artist adapted the form of a hijab into the features of a black cat. This mask she then wore in public for a month, in the manner of Ramadan, whilst going about her daily business. The second part of the project took place in London in June 2005 and involved wearing a tail for a month. The tail eventually grew to 19 metres in length and reached down into the Thames river from the Millenium Bridge. For the third and final part of the Cat Project in New York in October 2006, the artist and her 8 month old daughter wore matching cat costumes modelled on the Indian style ‘Churidar' suit which were tailored by the artist herself and included masks, bonnets, tails and accessories. The Cat Project plays with altering the parameters of visibility and the rules of interaction in public space and draws on the problematic of observance and observability for Muslim women in public life. As one of a rising generation of young British artists from a South Asian background, Nazneen is developing a body of work that challenges stereotypes of gender and identity politics and presents a subtle and engaging critique of public space. Nazneen Ayyub-Wood will be participating in the group exhibition ANOMALIES at Rossi & Rossi gallery in June 2009.