Islamic Arts Magazine Interview

Vaseem Mohammed…talks about ‘Familiar & Unfamiliar Territories’

To be published October/November

©2009 Vaseem Mohammed

While I was studying at college (Art & Design Foundation Course) I took a conscious decision to abstain from drawing human or animal figures in accordance to Islamic, and rather then being restricted, it opened many avenues of experimentation.

The time spent in Pakistan had huge impact on me. My work then was influenced mainly by Pakistani culture and I was trying to assert my Pakistani identity here in Britain. Then my work developed from being a manifestation of my Pakistani identity to more Islamic, as I began to gain more knowledge about Islam I then realised that (in Britain) I am a Muslim before any thing else.

I am originally self trained as a graphic designer and therefore have an interest in typography. With Islamic calligraphy for me there is both the appreciation of it’s shape and form, but also the ‘religious’ significance where the beauty of the calligraphy is heightened by its translations.

There is a huge amount of Islamic art and heritage from the past, from Qura’anic manuscripts, calligraphy, illuminations, etc. which express the artistic as well as scientific, mathematical, and political advancement of previous Islamic eras.

I think it is important to extract elements of these things and introduce them to a wider, contemporary audience to create awareness about the Qur’an.

As Muslims, we believe that the Qur’an is the literal word of God ,is not dated and is relevant to all aspects of life, wherever you may live, and so to paint a verse or even to paint the word ‘Allah’ brings a person one step closer to finding out about the Qur’an and Islam.

Architecture is another distinct feature in my paintings. The walled cities I paint incorporate domes, arches and intertwining alleyways that are a signature of Islamic architecture. The paintings are primarily inspired by a trip to Multan, a walled desert city in Pakistan. “There are a lot of saints and many monuments in Multan.These (the paintings) are views of the city. Its how light works with architecture. It’s my own interpretation and it’s just done, it’s not drawn out or anything. I carve (paint) these things out and use light and dark. It’s just trying to take manuscripts and putting them in different elements and contexts.”

My paintings share an expression of isolation and yet representing a global community. This is an expression of my own feelings of isolation both amongst the western and Islamic community. The walled cities are often mistaken for paintings of Morocco and other countries with Islamic heritage showing the unification of the architecture and Islam. Architecture in Islam tends to follow certain decorative principles which span all buildings and objects. The same ideas forms and designs recur across the Islamic world which prevail differences in art quality and execution of style explaining the familiarity of my paintings.

When I started out, (painting) my work was very much experimental and eventually a style emerged. I have two distinct styles of which one uses calligraphy as the heart of the piece juxtaposed on top of modernist, abstract style work. I would describe the calligraphy as a representation of Islam’s stability and presence in an ever-changing world.

I also draw from my childhood experience of living in the East end of London in the 1970’s. That’s what inspires me; I liked dilapidation, paint peeling off and things like that. In my parents house, which was over a 100 years old I used to peel at the wall paper, as children do, and there was decades of wallpaper there and subconsciously I started using that in my work.

The surrounding work is done in layers using various paints producing different textures and forms. “I keep taking away the layers of paint and eventually there comes some sort of an order. It is symbolic of the environment and the state of the world today. There is so much beauty in the world, Allah created it , and then there is mans destruction of it, whereas the calligraphy always stays intact like the Qur’an. The text is always the same and that is to show that Qur’an is always there whereas the world is ever-changing and evolving.”

The art of calligraphy was favoured in Islam to figural images to convey its core convictions as Islamic leaders saw the use of figural arts as possible idolatry. Islam’s theocracy then looked to calligraphy for religious expression. I made a conscious decision when embarking on his career to abstain from using animate images in his work in accordance with this tradition. I found that rather than it being restrictive in my work, this opened up avenues for artistic expression by urging me to experiment with abstract styles. Calligraphy has built a reputation over the centuries as a symbol representing power and beauty and is revered by Muslims worldwide and appreciated by non-Muslims alike. The combination of artistry and scholarship has resulted in a sublime reputation which combines divine and moral representations. The use of calligraphy in my work adds an abstract beauty which draws the eye to the heart of the painting and gives it a soul and meaning.

The calligraphy used is varied and each painting has a complimentary style and design to fit in with the ethos of the piece. Kufic calligraphy has been in used in both the traditional and ornamental styles along with the more elaborate Thuluth and oriental Sini styles. The style is chosen depending on the theme of the piece and for its aesthetic beauty. In each case the relationship between the inscriptions and the disorder of paint produces a profound effect on the viewers urging them to question and understand the complexities of the piece and its message.

Diversification, fatherhood, changes in personal space, and the dynamics of political Islam have all affected my work, yet the previously mentioned elements and themes are all still ever present in different personas. More recently, the paintings have become more of a platform for a political expression (although sometimes not obvious), drawing from imagery of bombings, war and war torn cities which have all left their

consequences, displacing and severing humanity.

I have been exploring some of these changes in “Familiar and Unfamiliar Territories”, where I have attempted to take my familiar style to unfamiliar places.

As well as all the other influences, my wife has been the most inspiring and encouraging person to me because with her she has brought many emotions and order to my life in regards to Islam and the way I perceive myself and this all manifests in my work

©2009 Vaseem Mohammed