About
'Forever and Ever' marks Nusra Latif Qureshi's first solo show in the UK for seven years. Her exquisitely crafted practice draws from colonial imagery, photography, botanical and miniature paintings to create works that question the politics of representation. The blank spaces act as deliberate absences, further re-shuffling expectations and mythologies.
The works in this exhibition came about after a period of inactivity, so in a sense are a re-grouping of Qureshi's concerns, particularly the use of the female figure; from the quintessential perfection depicted in Pahari painting to the contemporary objectification of women. The lines and strands are visual attempts at the struggle to regain clarity, (as hands are tangled in threads in âForever and Ever I' , 2011), pointing to the female figure seeking to regain her own place in the chaos of life.
Note to Editors
Nusra Latif Qureshi was born in Lahore, Pakistan, 1973. She lives and works in Melbourne, Australia.
Qureshi has been in numerous international exhibitions, including âRealms of Intimacy: Miniaturist Practice from Pakistanâ at Cincinatti Contemporary Arts Center (2012); âBeyond the Self: Contemporary Portraiture from Asia' at the National Portrait Gallery in Queensland (2011), âDrawn from Life' at Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal (2011); âBeyond the Page: The Miniature as Attitude in Contemporary Art' at the Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena (2010); âThe Rising Tide' at Mohatta Palace Museum, Karachi (2010); âResemble:Reassemble' at Devi Art Foundation, New Delhi (2010); âUrban Myths, Modern Fables' at University of Toronto, Canada and University of Technology, Sydney (2007); the ground-breaking âKarkahana: A Contemporary Collaboration' at San Francisco Asian Art Museum, California (2006); The Way I Remember Them' (solo show) at Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, Massachusetts (2004).
Qureshi was part of âEast-West Divan' at the 53rd Venice Biennale (2009) and also took part in the 5th Asia Pacific Triennial, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane (2006).
Her work has been acquired by numerous international collections including Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane; Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka; Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA; ArtOmi International Arts Center, New York and National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.