A Rich Tapestry: Farwa Moledina

Farwa Moledina is a Muslim artist based in Birmingham. One of our Committee Members spotted an article about her in ‘The Guardian’ and, having seen her recent exhibition at Ikon, we invited her to write a bit about herself for ‘Artefacts’.

My work is often a study of the female Muslim identity and I am most interested in how the western art historical narrative portrays the Muslim woman, and whether this has impacted how Muslim women are viewed in the contemporary world.

I explore these issues through the use of pattern and textile. The patterns I design are inspired by the Islamic Design Principles, such as those of recurrence, symmetry and abstraction. Islamic Art encourages reflection of the self and the universe and the exploration of what lies beneath the visual surface (of this world). This concept informs the patterns in my work, which are often composed of a symmetrical geometric repeating pattern. Each pattern is composed of individual elements that, at first glance, are not obvious to the viewer. The work requires contemplation to reveal its true meaning and depth.

The use of textile is an important aspect of my work as textile has evolved from being a craft concerned with the domestic to being

reclaimed by women artists, re-establishing textiles as an artform within a patriarchal narrative.

I have exhibited widely within the UK including at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, the Midlands Art Centre, Ikon Gallery and New Art Gallery Walsall. In 2020 I exhibited work across two venues in Lahore as part of a collateral exhibition for the Lahore Biennale organised by Ikon Gallery and Aisha Khalid. I have also shown work at Warehouse421 in Abu Dhabi, curated by Banat Collective.

Most recently, I held my first solo exhibition entitled ‘Women of Paradise’ at Ikon Gallery. The exhibition was a comment on the supposed neutrality of museums and galleries and presented a study of the four most revered women in Islamic tradition.

My work has been acquired by Birmingham Museums Trust, The New Art Gallery Walsall and private collectors. n

LEFT: Farwa Moledina, ‘Women of Paradise’, 2022, Textile installation, 200cm x 280cm approx. Ikon Gallery. Image: Stuart Whipps RIGHT: Farwa Moledina, ‘Not Your Harem Girl’, 2018, detail, digitally printed textile, 300cm x 150cm approx. © Courtesy the artist ABOVE: Farwa Moledina, ‘By Your Coming We Are Healed’, 2020, installation view, digitally printed textile, 400cm x 120cm approx. The New Art Gallery Walsall Permanent Collection