“Mahwish Chishty has been gaining a strong reputation in the US for artworks that cross cultural boundaries and engage with thorny political issues.
She originally trained in Pakistan, in her native country’s tradition of miniature painting, before moving to America where she became interested in blending that practice with some of the more contemporary techniques she discovered.
One of her new ways of working is something she calls “sculptural paintings”, in which she constructs pyramid-shaped frames overlaid with paper, onto which she paints in gouache or applies other media such as photo transfers of traditional folk art.
Alongside the sculptural paintings and illuminated models, this exhibition – Chishty’s first international solo show – also features her series of military drone paintings, which was inspired by a visit back to Pakistan a few years ago in 2011.
Back in her native country, she noticed how the preponderance of the unmanned aerial vehicles over the Afghanistan border region was being talked about across the nation; she felt these discussions – and the details circulating locally about drone strikes – were in stark contrast to the lack of information available back in the US.
In fact, Chishty is making- a broader statement that, through news coverage and the thoughts and conversations of the public, the presence of drones is quickly becoming part of the country’s cultural fabric. By overlaying patterns found in Pakistani folk art and print media on to tiny silhouettes of drones, Chishty is finding a way of “disarming” them.
Among the intricate patterns in this particular piece, you can see rather sinister images of guns and a skull and crossbones, but there are also colourful designs in the exhibition that were inspired by truck art from Pakistan.
That approach comes from the practice of decorating haulage trucks with bright illustrations featuring a variety of images, ranging from the abstract, to movie stars and the written word.
And all this detail is rendered in Chishty’s delicate miniature painting technique in gouache and gold leaf on tea-stained paper.
While the drones are large, threatening machines in real life, these paintings are small and exquisite, but they make a similarly huge impact.
There are questions, of course, about the aestheticising of war and whether it’s a contentious route to take, but the artist feels the juxtaposition of images of horror and cultural beauty are an effective way of bringing awareness of the role of drones to audiences in the west.
After all, the military drones are part of the everyday lives of the people of Pakistan and, in a way, this art is helping to take away their teeth and claws by turning them into rather beautiful objects.”
Interview by John Holt. IWM Contemporary: Mahwish Chishty runs at the Imperial War Museum in London until 19 March 2017
She originally trained in Pakistan, in her native country’s tradition of miniature painting, before moving to America where she became interested in blending that practice with some of the more contemporary techniques she discovered.
One of her new ways of working is something she calls “sculptural paintings”, in which she constructs pyramid-shaped frames overlaid with paper, onto which she paints in gouache or applies other media such as photo transfers of traditional folk art.
Alongside the sculptural paintings and illuminated models, this exhibition – Chishty’s first international solo show – also features her series of military drone paintings, which was inspired by a visit back to Pakistan a few years ago in 2011.
Back in her native country, she noticed how the preponderance of the unmanned aerial vehicles over the Afghanistan border region was being talked about across the nation; she felt these discussions – and the details circulating locally about drone strikes – were in stark contrast to the lack of information available back in the US.
In fact, Chishty is making- a broader statement that, through news coverage and the thoughts and conversations of the public, the presence of drones is quickly becoming part of the country’s cultural fabric. By overlaying patterns found in Pakistani folk art and print media on to tiny silhouettes of drones, Chishty is finding a way of “disarming” them.
Among the intricate patterns in this particular piece, you can see rather sinister images of guns and a skull and crossbones, but there are also colourful designs in the exhibition that were inspired by truck art from Pakistan.
That approach comes from the practice of decorating haulage trucks with bright illustrations featuring a variety of images, ranging from the abstract, to movie stars and the written word.
And all this detail is rendered in Chishty’s delicate miniature painting technique in gouache and gold leaf on tea-stained paper.
While the drones are large, threatening machines in real life, these paintings are small and exquisite, but they make a similarly huge impact.
There are questions, of course, about the aestheticising of war and whether it’s a contentious route to take, but the artist feels the juxtaposition of images of horror and cultural beauty are an effective way of bringing awareness of the role of drones to audiences in the west.
After all, the military drones are part of the everyday lives of the people of Pakistan and, in a way, this art is helping to take away their teeth and claws by turning them into rather beautiful objects.”
Interview by John Holt. IWM Contemporary: Mahwish Chishty runs at the Imperial War Museum in London until 19 March 2017
