Huma Mulji
(1970)
Arabian Delight
The present lot by Pakistani-born artist Huma Mulji is constructed as an oversized, battered suitcase made from rexine, with a taxidermied camel partially emerging out of it. Rife with symbolism, the work explores Mulji's concerns with the displacement and relocation of cultures. Wryly titled Arabian Delight -a name borrowed from a sweet shop in Lahore-it also addresses Orientalist stereotypes. "...the camel is a rich metaphor; a cliche of...
The present lot by Pakistani-born artist Huma Mulji is constructed as an oversized, battered suitcase made from rexine, with a taxidermied camel partially emerging out of it. Rife with symbolism, the work explores Mulji's concerns with the displacement and relocation of cultures. Wryly titled Arabian Delight -a name borrowed from a sweet shop in Lahore-it also addresses Orientalist stereotypes. "...the camel is a rich metaphor; a cliche of the exotic Arabian Desert both revered and reproduced as kitsch souvenir, it equally connotes migration, endurance and overcoming adversity. The camel is also native to the desert and arid plains that surround Mulji's hometown of Karachi and her sculpture emphasises the millennia-long history of trade and cultural exchange between the two regions." (Murtaza Vali, "Paradise Found & Lost: Salima Hashmi," Art Asia Pacific, Issue 57 , March/April 2008, online) Mulji, who often featured animals in her works from 2008 to 2010, acquired the camel carcass during an Eid al-Adha celebration. Also known as the Festival of Sacrifice, it marks the end of the annual Hajj pilgrimage, while commemorating the prophet Ibrahim through the ritual sacrifice of cloven hoofed animals such as the camel. The suitcase is a commentary on the complicated relationship between the Gulf and Pakistan, and "the migration of construction workers, professionals, and other daily wage earners from the 1970s onwards, the smuggling of electronic goods, and other contraband consumer items, from the UAE to Pakistan in personal luggage; the trafficking of children as camel jockeys from Pakistan to the Arab world," according to the artist. (Enoch Cheng, "Interview with Huma Mulji," Asia Art Archive , 1 April 2011, online) The haphazard and cramped condition in which the camel is stuffed into the suitcase has a deliberate comical appearance, and is the artist's sharp take on the perception of Pakistan's "Arabisation".
Read More
Artist Profile
Other works of this artist in:
this auction
|
entire site
Lot
102
of
120
SUMMER ONLINE AUCTION
12-13 JUNE 2019
Estimate
$12,000 - 15,000
Rs 8,28,000 - 10,35,000
Winning Bid
$28,800
Rs 19,87,200
(Inclusive of Buyer's Premium)
USD payment only.
Why?
ARTWORK DETAILS
Huma Mulji
Arabian Delight
2008
Rexine suitcase, taxidermy camel, metal rods, wood, cotton wool, fabric
Height: 41.25 in (105 cm) Width: 56.75 in (144 cm) Depth: 61 in (155 cm)
PROVENANCE Property from an Important Collection, UK
EXHIBITEDDesperately Seeking Paradise , Pakistan Pavilion at Dubai: Art Dubai, 19 - 22 March 2008The Empire Strikes Back: Indian Art Today , London: Saatchi Gallery, 29 January - 7 May 2010The Great Game: Iran Pavilion , Venice: 56th Venice Biennale, 9 May - 22 November 2015 PUBLISHED Zehra Jumabhoy, The Empire Strikes Back: Indian Art Today , London: Jonathan Cape, 2010, p. 147, 148-149 (illustrated)
Category: Sculpture
Style: Figurative