Adeela Suleman new.qxp_Layout 1 22/06/2022 15:59 Page 2
Adeela Suleman, Untitled (detail), 2021-22. Appliqué with hand embroidery on Jamawar and Banarsi silk. Courtesy the artist.
Allegory Of War Midlands Arts Centre hosts Adeela Suleman’s most comprehensive solo exhibition in a UK public gallery Film projections, metal repoussé work, ceramic plates, intricate applique and installation all feature in Adeela Suleman’s most comprehensive solo exhibition in a UK public gallery. On display at MAC Birmingham, her show, Allegory Of War, is awash with recurring motifs - an important feature of the Karachibased artist’s work. The motifs - organic subjects such as birds and flowers - reference the decorative traditions of the Mughal style and form detailed, repetitive patterns replete with symbolic meaning. Adeela is known for the social and political commentary underlying her sculptures. She particularly focuses on the links between
historic and contemporary violence experienced in Karachi, where up to 12 people per day are murdered in gang-related or political attacks. Her work acts not only as a memorial to the victims, but also as an interrogation of the juxtapositions of creativity and destruction. “Violence is the most destructive activity known to humanity,” says Adeela. “In order to understand it, artists have, throughout history, merged colours, textures and patterns to depict wartime beliefs and ideologies, practices, symbols and values. Their work investigates not only artistic responses to terror but the meaning of violence itself.”
As well as examples of her past work, the exhibition will also feature a new commission created by Adeela with a group of Birmingham artists and makers who specialise in stitch and appliqué artwork. The project is inspired by traditions practised by women in the Sindh province of Pakistan, who come together to create textiles while sharing skills and stories as part of the making process. Adeela Suleman: Allegory Of War shows at Midlands Arts Centre from Saturday 16 July to Sunday 9 October.
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