All Eyes On: Aleezah Qayyum

My work explores the association of different shapes and textures with the human body. There has been a constant dialogue between clay and paint. The act of touching and molding clay is a very sensually gratifying process and I try to depict the feeling of it through the way I paint. I like making parallels between the softness in clay and flesh. Through an instinctive process of form finding, using clay, I developed a collection of biomorphic forms.

I, then, use a variety of fleshy and jelly-like textures to study how I want to embellish my forms in order to turn them into pieces of living mass that feel relatable but also confusing to the spectator. My forms resemble body parts or internal organs at first glance but the element of ambiguity also makes the mind wander towards the endless possibilities of the origin of such forms. I focus equally on the colour palette as on the visual texture of the painting: the soft pastel colours lend themselves to the theme of a dreamlike, effete, unclutched substance that evolves and dissolves in accordance to the perspective through which it is seen.

Organism IX, 2022
Oil on canvas, 82”x82”

I took inspiration from prehistoric representations of Venus and Aphrodite as they seem more interesting and relevant to contemporary discourse on gender. The point of interest here is the perspective which suggests self-examination and a view of the female body through a female lens

This piece was also inspired by the earliest statuette of the goddess of love and fertility known as the ‘Lady of Lemba’. This earliest representation, combining phallus as a head on top of a female body, also seems to challenge the version of venus we know today

The Birth of Lemba Lady, 2022
Oil on canvas, 84”x84”

Organism VI, 2022
Oil on panel, 36”x36”

Organism IV, 2022
Oil on canvas, 60”x60”

Organism III, 2022
Oil on canvas, 60”x60”