SHEZAD DAWOOD’s 2017 neon work Island Pattern, is informed by multiple studies of the wave patterns in the Venice Lagoon and tells the story of a city at increasing risk from climate change and rising sea levels.
The ideas for Island Pattern evolved out of conversations with Marine Engineer Angela Pomero and the chief designer at Venice’s Fortuny textile factory, Pietro Lunetta who had created a textile print using the same wave pattern data. Adding his own family history of links to the textile trade in Pakistan and the North West of England to these discussions, Dawood’s research sought to understand how the seemingly disparate subjects of pattern, migration and climate change, intersect.
SHEZAD DAWOOD is a multidisciplinary artist who interweaves stories, realities and symbolism to create richly layered artworks, spanning painting, textiles, sculpture, film and digital media. Fascinated by ecologies and architecture, his work takes a philosophical approach, asking questions and exploring alternative futures through what Dawood describes as ‘world-building’ and ‘imagineering’. His practice is animated by research, working with multiple audiences and communities to delve into narrative, history and embodiment.
The artist’s selected solo exhibitions and commissions for 2022/2023 include: Leviathan: We go elsewhere, The Void, Derry; Leviathan: From the Forest to the Sea, Touchstones, Rochdale; Night in the Garden of Love: Inspired by & featuring Yusef Lateef, WIELS, Brussels; Sea of Redemption, Shezad Dawood x Zien, Integrations, Barakat Contemporary, Seoul; HMS Alice Liddell, St Pancras Wires commission, London; Hybrid Landscapes, Deutsche Bank Frieze Lounges, London. His selected group exhibitions and commissions for 2022/2023 include: Qatar Museums, Doha; DesertX AlUla; KSA and Toronto Biennial of Art.
