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Lot 75

 

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Nilima Sheikh's practice draws heavily from eastern traditions of miniature painting interwoven with oral traditions of storytelling and folk singing, as well as her own experiences. Her passion for drawing and colour are evident in her casein and tempera paintings, in which she creates sensuous and poetic representations of the mundane. An enchanting storyteller, her body of works shows a clear lyrical disposition and mystical aura.... Nilima Sheikh's practice draws heavily from eastern traditions of miniature painting interwoven with oral traditions of storytelling and folk singing, as well as her own experiences. Her passion for drawing and colour are evident in her casein and tempera paintings, in which she creates sensuous and poetic representations of the mundane. An enchanting storyteller, her body of works shows a clear lyrical disposition and mystical aura. Nonetheless, the soul of her narrative lies in her commitment to addressing human condition in all its aspects. Her enquiries explore human emotions, far beyond her immediate environs. She references varied geographies and discourses, like Central Asia and pre- Renaissance Italian painting, to create introspective works that question the meaning of the socio- political landscape around her.

The present lot, a monumental scroll painting titled River: Carrying Across, Leaving Behind, looks closely at the legendary love stories of Punjab and, in an introspective manner, tries to gauge the cause of separation between two communities that led to the formation of the two nations, India and Pakistan. The colourful landscape rendered in myriad hues, with tree lined expanses, roads and rivers represents the journeys that connect as well as separate the two nations. The work comments on the partition of 1947 and the pain, suffering and loss that were felt on both sides. Families were separated and violence was inflicted, leaving impressions and memories that have survived to this day. As the artist explains, "This painting is about the journey along a mountain river, now visible, now around the bend, sometimes close enough to touch. It is about the transition from one time to another, one land to another."

Randi Hoffman interviewed Sheikh during her seminal exhibition with Pakistani artist Shahzia Sikander at the Asia Society in New York in 2001. Sheikh told Hoffman that she enjoyed working in the form of a scroll, as it is an Asian historical tradition, and is architecturally significant without being permanent like a mural, or outside and moving in the wind like a banner. She said "I found working on an intimate scale on paper a very liberating experience, I could talk about things that would seem incongruous in a framed canvas on a wall. I still feel new avenues remain unexplored (in this medium), and that there is still a lot to be done" (Randi Hoffman, "Modern Miniatures at the Asia Society", 2002, A Gathering of the Tribes website, accessed August, 2013).

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