Beyond the Gates
Silver, print on paper, acrylic
45.5x33x0.5 cm
2013
Available
Mahvash Salim’s work is reflective of a nostalgic element. She explores the idea of a utopian home and overwhelming memories that bind human beings to the spaces they live in or previously inhabited. Her recent works study the hidden spaces at home which hold and sometimes reveal the secrets and fragments of the past. Our houses are constructed in layers, with spaces within spaces. One can easily compare this system of spaces within spaces to a set of matryoshka dolls-the outer layer does not reveal the secret within it and one has to dig deeper and deeper to reach it. The spaces within these spaces work in a similar manner. We are bound to these spaces by this bond that we share with them. Such is our relationship to the cupboards and drawers in our homes. We thrive on our intimate relationship with the objects within the spaces we inhabit.
Mahvash Salim’s recent work is a series of miniature enclosed spaces created in metal mostly. The miniature size of the works gives it an element of intimacy presenting the home as an accumulation of objects that connect us to it and hints towards the presence of the person who resides within. The series of objects is complemented with large drawings of overlapping house plans in pen and pastels.
Salim’s piece, Beyond the Gates shows a miniature silver gate opening into a two dimensional drawing of overlapping house plans depicting our attachment to spaces at home and objects hidden inside.
Living and working in Lahore, Pakistan Mahvash Salim holds a Masters in Art and Design and a BDes. In Jewellery and Accessory Design (both passed with Hons) from Beaconhouse National University.
Image Courtesy | Mahvash Salim Raza