Vogue India June 2019

100 VOGUEINDIAJUNE 2019 http://www.vogue.in

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COURTESY

JOSEPH

SINCLAIR;

RAQIB

SHAW

AND

WHITE

CUBE

GALLERY

turned-studio in Peckham, south

London,is hispaintingscometolife.

Murano crystal chandeliers hover

over an indoor orchard of bonsais,

candelabras and Persian rugs—the

layeredfantasyis hiswayoflife.But

heexplainsthatinthemore-is-more

world he inhabits,he finds a sense of

calmandstillness,a balance.Hesays,

“Ithinkthatmyaestheticis anamal-

gamationof various influences,from

the Renaissance to ancient India,

fromliteratureandpoetrytothemen-

talityofmakingfrombeforetheEdo

period...MyobsessionwithJapanese

culture,inparticular,bonsai-making

and ikebana...I find that these prac-

ticeshavea profoundeffectonmyin-

ternalsilenceandonmywork.I have

consideredmyartasa personaljour-

ney independent from prevailing

trendsandfashioninart.Theresult

is a uniqueviewof myouterandinner

worldasthepaintingsareessentially

discourses on my artistic concerns

andexperiencesoflifetodate.”>

RAWDECADENCE

ButwhatledShawintothisphantas-

magoricalstyle? Wehavetogeta little

biographicaltotracethis artist’stra-

jectory—thedecorativestylea nodto

his boyhoodin Kashmir, his flawless

techniquerevealshistrainingatCen-

tral SaintMartins, the diverseinflu-

encesfromhisdiasporicexperiencesas

an immigrant artist inLondon. “My

workis a tableauthatpointstowardsa

hybrid aesthetic that we are seeing

moreof nowastheworldgetssmaller.

It hasalsogivenmea globalplatform

tovoicemysenseof diaspora.I hopeit

willinspireotherartistswiththesame

senseof displacement,”saysShaw.His

arthasalwaysbeenintenselypersonal.

In Paradise Lost (2013), considered

oneoftheartist’smostimportantse-

ries,thejourneyofinnocencetoexpe-

rienceentersShaw’sworld asa lone

nostalgic figure in search of the lost

land, animmigranttaleofsorts.“I’m

alsohopingtofinishthethirdandfinal

chapterofParadiseLost...butwe’llsee

aboutthat,”hesays.Evenaswewait

inanticipationforwhatmightbehis

magnumopus,hisrecentshow,Land-

scapesOfKashmir, exhibitedinspring

at Pace gallery, New York, takes a

similar nostalgicturn. Exploring the

longtraditionof landscapes,Shawrec-

reatedhischildhoodmemories,reim-

aginingthenatureandarchitectureof

theIndiansubcontinent.

INEXCESS

Fromanthropomorphiccreaturesand

bleeding flowers to Hindu imagery

andbejewelledembellishments,some

critics have tried labelling his work

kitsch.ButtheEuro-centricgazeon

artis ratherpassé;whileShaw’swork

isdecadent, it’s hyper urgentin its

abilitytocapturetheinformationage,

theclutterof cross-culturalcamara-

derieandtheanxietiesthatgoalong

withit. Andhis aesthetictranslates

into his life and surroundings as

well—unlike the white interiors of

most artist studios, Shaw’s factory-

ArtistRaqibShawwithMrC

inhisstudioinLondon, 2018

Shaw’srecentwork,AllegoryOfMelancholy:

AfterLucasCranachTheElder(2017-18)