Rashid Rana
dal 30/9/2011 al 29/12/2011
Segnalato da
30/9/2011
Rashid Rana
Cornerhouse, Manchester
Everything Is Happening At Once includes new and recent work that cuts across conventional notions of the scale and status of the photographic object, opening up its potential to represent cultural, social and physical realities.
Cornerhouse, with Asia Triennial Manchester 11, is pleased to present the first major
UK public solo show from Rashid Rana, widely considered to be the most prominent
and original contemporary artist working in South Asia today.
Everything Is Happening At Once includes new and recent work that cuts across
conventional notions of the scale and status of the photographic object, opening up its
potential to represent cultural, social and physical realities.
The works in this exhibition, spanning 2006 to the present, blur the divide between two and
three-dimensional forms to challenge the viewer’s understanding of the world in which they
live. Photo sculptures, large-scale photo mosaics, installations and new video work subvert
perception of size and structure and urge us to look deeper into the relationship between the
fragment and the bigger picture.
The title of the exhibition is taken from the quotation ‘Time... is what keeps everything from
happening at once’1 and reflects the conceptual dichotomy at the heart of Rana’s practice.
The exhibition explores three themes:
In Gallery 1, Dis-location explores domesticity, displacement and everyday objects,
specifically through a series of heavily pixellated photo sculptures that manipulate our ideas
of representation and reality, including Plastic Flowers in a Traditional Vase (2007), a still life
viewable from all angles. In The World Is Not Enough (2006-7), Rana creates a portrait of an
undulating seascape, whose beauty is at odds with the micro-imagery of waste and urban
decay that are woven together to create it.
Between Flesh and Blood, in Gallery 2, dissects the body and physical relationships. In
Red Carpet I (2007), the carnage of slaughtered animals in a Lahore abattoir hides in plain
sight behind the intricate beauty and tradition of a Persian carpet. On the surface, the series
What Lies Between Flesh and Blood (2009) presents deeply textured, serene abstracts,
reminiscent of Rothko. Viewed more closely the works reveal their unsettling detail, each
composed of an intricate mosaic of thousands of tiny images of wounds and skin, collected
from disparate sources including fashion magazines, pornographic websites and medical
journals.
An Idea of Abstract, in Gallery 3, represents Rana’s re-engagement with formal concerns,
including new work Language Series (2010-11) and the stunning large-scale sculpture
Desperately Seeking Paradise II (2010-11), which appears to depict a panoramic skyline of
an imaginary city with high-rise buildings. Close-up, the bigger picture disappears and
thousands of smaller images are revealed, depicting houses in Lahore, the city where artist
was born and is currently based.
Curated by Sarah Perks and Alnoor Mitha.
Related Events
On Saturday 1 October at 12noon Rashid Rana will be in conversation with David Elliot
(Curator, formerly Director of the Sydney Biennial) at Cornerhouse.
Image: Rashid Rama, Image Courtesy of the Tiroche DeLeon Collection & Art Vantage Ltd. Installation view at Lisson Gallery, London. Photo: Ken Adlard
preview: september 30
Cornerhouse
70 Oxford Street - Manchester
Mon - Closed, Tue - Sat 12:00 - 20:00, Sun 12:00 - 18:00
Admission free