Oliver Bliss Critical Review Shezad Dawood

7/31/2019 Oliver Bliss Critical Review Shezad Dawood

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Oliver Bliss

A critical review of a piece of arts practice that you have been present at as spectator.

This critical review focuses on the exhibition Piercing Brightnessby the London-based,

international artist, Shezad Dawood that was held at the Harris Museum and Art Gallery.

The paper examines the visitor experience and the impact of the supporting guide produced

by the gallery.

Piercing Brightnessis an exhibition within three rooms. The viewer enters in the middle of a

central rectangular space which has an adjacent room off either side. Upon entering the

space it was immediately apparent that none of the pieces had any identifying labels or

titles. Instead Preston City Councils Harris Museum and Art Gallery (2011) produced a

Shezad Dawood: Piercing Brightness Gallery Guidefor the exhibition. The guide explained

that each piece was named after titles of science fiction books. The title of the artwork

Rendezvous with Rama(2010) comes from Arthur C. Clarkes 1972 novel, whilst Jewels of

Aptor I,II, and III(2010) were inspired by Samuel R Delanys 1962 science fiction novel.

Dawood himself noted that: Fiction becomes a wonderful way in which we constantly

recreated belief systems(Dawood, 2011). He also references the 12th century, Sufi epic

poem Farid Ud-Din AttarsThe Conference of the Birds(Preston City Council 3). Theguidance material introduced the viewer to the fact that there was diverse conceptual

thought behind the iconography of the objects themselves, but did not provide much depth

about how the novels and the poem contributed to influencing the artists final output.

The absence of the titles (see above) may have been deliberate, by either the artist or by

the gallery curator. It is arguable that labelling or providing a place with the books

themselves would have been more effective in helping the viewer gain more understanding


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about the work; however it may have been decided that it would detract from the encounter

with the unknown experience, which I felt as I walked through the spaces.

Reflecting on the visit, there is a sense that viewers are treated to a UFO experience with

static objects. When I walked around the space I understood that I was viewing suspended

objects in a setting created by the artist. The reason for their construction and their identity

were unknown to me at the time. Subsequent viewing of Dawood s podcast where he

explains the cultural and allegorical references he was deploying clarified his ideas

somewhat:Mythic archetypesin a self-created fictional construct.

This was my first encounter with Dawoods work; I participated in his construct by walking

through the exhibition. I had the opportunity to indirectly communicate with Dawood through

my interactions with the objects he had left for me to make sense of and explore. I had the

prompts from the gallery guide to focus my understanding; however I was left to make my

own assumptions and decisions about how to interpret their meaning and to ascertain

whether the work succeeded on its own terms.

Visitors to exhibition may not be aware of the literary allusions present in the titles as they

were not provided in the space. After seeing the exhibition it was possible to discover that

the book Rendezvous with Ramais a novel from the perspective of a group of human

explorers who intercept an unknown spacecraft in an attempt to unlock its mysteries.

(Rendezvous with Rama, 2011).

Dawoods piece Rendezvous with Rama (2010) has three ominous neon circles suspended

on the wall without any details as to why they are there. Had that information been available,

the experience of the exhibition could have been improved as I felt it was difficult to look

beyond a literal interpretation of what was being presented. Without any additional clues for


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the audience to discover or interact with, the impact of the work is limited to viewing three

lights on a wall. However in retrospect, knowing more about the novel, I can see that these

loops represented the lights from a space vessel.

In the adjacent room to the right, in a triangular formation around the room, were three birds:

a flamingo, a macaw and a toucan, respectively entitled TheJewels of Aptor I, The Jewels

of Aptor IIand The Jewels of Aptor III. Each bird was hung with two bands of neon light

around its body. Without knowing the history and significance of each birds character, they

remained anonymous and alien as I only had a few lines of reference from the guidance

material. I would have liked to have known how the birds represented a particular abstract

idea or spiritual meaning and why these particular birds referenced to the poem.

The poem The Conference of the Birds is an allegory of the quest for God (The Simorgh)

Each bird has a special significance, and a corresponding didactic fault. (The Conference of

the Birds, 2011) The parrots excuse is a passage within the poem; (similar to the

taxidermied animal in Jewels of Aptor II).

She Trilled: I have been caged by heartless men,

But my desire is to be free again;

If I could reassert my liberty

Id find the stream of immortality

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The parrot represents the idea of the pursuit for ones own immortality over the quest for

God. If the gallerys guide had provided this additional context those who are unfamiliar with


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the poem would have had the opportunity to link these themes with other references within

the exhibition and gained more understanding of the artists inspiration source.

Some viewers may have wanted to uncover and learn more about the art works and

consider how they connected to references made in the guide. Personal research,

undertaken after the visit, revealed depths to the work that would have made the experience

much richer and more enjoyable. The minimalist interpretation strategy (if it was a strategy

at all)resulted in a lack of information. Because the signification of disparate parts was not

made clear this meant that the artists vision was in danger of remaining unknown. There is

a potential risk that viewer could lose interest through this lack of understanding and insight.

Before the exhibition moves onto a wider UK audience it should be contextualised so that

the depth of the work can be understood and appreciated.

Word Count: 1,022


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Bibliography

Attar, Farida al Din. The Conference of Birds. Ca1230. Darabandi, Afkham; Davis, Dick

1945. Harmondsworth: Penguin. 1984. Print

Dawood, Shezad. The Jewels of Aptor 9/10-13/11/2010. Paradise Row, 2011.

Web.14.12.11

Jewels of Aptor I,II and III, 2010. Neon and taxidermied birds, Variable dimensions.

Courtesy of Paradise Row, London

Preston City Council. Harris Museum and Art Gallery. Shezad Dawood: Piercing Brightness,

Gallery Guide, Preston City Council. 2011. Print.

Rendezvous with Rama, 2010.Wall-mounted neon 300x 245cm (blue 120x 60 cm, red 150 x

80cm, white 40 cm) Courtesy of Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai

Rendezvous with Rama. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 November 2011. Web. 11

December 2011.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rendezvous_with_Rama

The Conference of the Birds. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 07 November 2011. Web.

11 December 2011.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conference_of_the_Birds

Oliver Bliss Critical Review Shezad Dawood

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