Important Notice

Through his large scale portraits, Riyas Komu intends to create and spread political and social awareness. His carefully chosen images are sourced from various media outlets with the purpose of communicating the torment and contention experienced by the common man, particularly in areas of violence and political dispute. Even though these works portray moments of personal and social unrest, Komu manages to draw the viewer’s attention to their... Through his large scale portraits, Riyas Komu intends to create and spread political and social awareness. His carefully chosen images are sourced from various media outlets with the purpose of communicating the torment and contention experienced by the common man, particularly in areas of violence and political dispute. Even though these works portray moments of personal and social unrest, Komu manages to draw the viewer’s attention to their subjects’ ability to cope with these situations, celebrating the spirit of Everyman.

Komu "…paints pictures based on photographic references from the print and television media. His subjects are charged with significance bringing about a disturbance depicting an element of political disquiet. For Riyas Komu, art is a medium for social comment on the situations the world is facing today… The works in oil are thick and over-layered, and this gives them more dimension and life. The figures and the backdrop spring out and hit you and there is no escaping from what first appears stark and simple and seems to get more on more complex as it grows on you" (The Guild Gallery website, accessed November, 2008).

In the present lot, titled Holy Land – l, the artist paints an image of a man, his neck stretched out, staring upwards into the infinity beyond the frame of the canvas. The expression on the subject’s face is intense and his eyes seem watery and glazed over. Abruptly cutting off this portrait at the man’s ochre collar, Komu leaves the rest to the viewer’s imagination. Is the subject in his image being grateful or is he in fact perplexed by the workings of the divine? Are his hands clutched together in prayer, asking for respite or forgiveness?

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Artist Profile
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