Mehwish Iqbal

Mehwish Iqbal is a contemporary artist, born in Sangla Hill, a small village town in the east of Pakistan.[1] She currently lives and works in Merrylands, Sydney.[2]

Biography

Iqbal grew up in Sangla Hill, Pakistan, a small village town where art was not even a subject taught at the local school. Growing up in a family of doctors and engineers, pursuing art as a career meant standing against all odds.[1] In 2002 in Pakistan, she completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts, majoring in Painting, at the National College of Arts. In 2003, Iqbal moved to Dubai, UAE where she collaborated with local artists on various projects and group shows. In 2006, she migrated to Australia with her family.[1] She went on to complete a Masters of Arts in 2011, majoring in Printmaking, at the College of Fine Arts UNSW, Australia.[1] Iqbal has been involved in a number of group shows throughout Australia and has done solo shows in NSW and New York. She has undergone artist residencies in Iceland, Pakistan, Australia, Turkey and New York, and has been offered 5 Grants and Awards from 2010 to the present.[3]

Style

Trained as an oil painter, Mehwish went on to acquire printmaking skill in the Masters program. She has since evolved her own style, experimenting with multiple techniques through layering to create manifold of imagery.[3] Taking inspiration from classic Indian miniature painting and Islamic geometric patterns, the work process involves stylized landscapes representing the delicacy of an environment whereas the animal symbolism in the current work is derived from hunting scenes of Indian miniature paintings. Iqbal is also influenced by the work of contemporary artists such as Swoon, Shahzia Sikander and Kiki Smith.[1] Her work is a translation of different ideas, which are carefully webbed through a process of layering at a physical and an intellectual level.[3]

Themes

Iqbal’s work provocatively explores notions of womanhood, courage, liberation and power. She experiments with themes regarding the course of integration, assimilation and separation experienced by migrants living in Australia, and investigates issues faced by under privileged children in developing countries. Her work is webbed out of stories of people and explores issues that shape one’s life. Through her work she tries to find the balance between the reality of life and its delicacy, events that shape us into who we are or what may become of us.[3]

Education

Exhibitions

Residencies

Grants and awards

Publications

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Only Daughter | IMOW Muslima". muslima.imow.org. Retrieved 2014-04-19.
  2. ↑ http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/its-state-of-the-art-for-muslim-women/story-e6frexmi-1226348093821
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Mehwish Iqbal". mehwishiqbal.com. Retrieved 2014-04-19.
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