Layers are always at play in Anila Quayyum Agha‘s art.
“Most of my works are layered—both literally and figuratively,” she said. “I want people to explore how history is packed tight through time and the past and how that makes us give value to various communities.”
Whether it’s in the simple appearance of pieces like Be Still My Heart—a sculpture that features tiny sewn beads woven across its structure—or The Greys In Between—with looming arches sheltering a triangular centerpiece—the Pakistan-born artist’s works always have more to them than meets the eye.
Starting July 15, Agha will showcase her works with a solo exhibition at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art titled Liminal Space.
“I think it signifies what San Luis Obispo should stand for,” SLOMA Chief Curator Emma Saperstein said. “The ideas of Anila’s work in general, are really what represents us and our future best.”
Agha has worked alongside the city of SLO and Saperstein in the past to bring her work The Greys In-Between to the city as part of the public art program. In the time since, Agha said, she has learned to appreciate and has been inspired by the energy she feels from from residents.
“I hope people come out and they know how grateful I am for honoring me with their space,” she said.”This is the largest amount of work I have displayed in SLO, so I am very excited o see the reaction from its residents.”
The show—which runs until Oct. 29—will be divided between two galleries within the museum, with one gallery dedicated to a large-scale sculpture and the other dedicated to smaller-scale sculptures and paper works.
“My intent with any show that I do is to show the work and make sure it looks great in the space it is in,” Agha said. “I also want to make people understand what it takes to cross over boundaries and create a dialogue between different pockets of people based on race, color, or creed.”
Agha said that the title Liminal Space is taken directly from one of the smaller-scale pieces she contributed. It highlights her efforts to make use of the light and shadows her art generates to create a unique atmosphere in the room her pieces are placed in.
“It’s this silver diamond-shaped piece that plays off of this idea of liminal spaces in our world and it makes use of the light it reflects to create shadows around it,” she said. “I hope that people see it and will experience the same kind of reflection internally that the image invokes and ask themselves questions like: ‘How do I perceive others and how do I perceive myself?'”
In addition to her works being layered explorations of shadow and light, Agha said exhibition pieces like Shimmering Mirage—which serves as the centerpiece in the main gallery—also epitomize her tendency to adapt patterns from the world around her.
“I tend to take patterns—whether it’s from fabric or buildings—and redesign them how I would like to see them,” Agha said. “Things like combining the Eastern and Western cultures, adding elements to that, and redesigning it to my current aesthetic.”
Working with patterns from fabric is something Agha feels elevates the lesser-appreciated field of craftwork that is commonly looked over by people in her field.
“When I started as an artist, my goal had been to elevate the work of people of color who do craftwork,” she said. “As it was often undervalued at the time I was going to grad school.”
Now, in elevating it, she hopes to showcase how intricate and meaningful even the simplest work can be and—more importantly—that they should be appreciated as such.
“When I make drawings on paper, they have that same type of beading and embroidery on them that you can find in fabric designs,” Agha said. “The pinpoints of light on them are very layered, similar to the way shadows in my other pieces become layered on the walls.”
More than anything, Liminal Space allows Agha to showcase her greatest amount of work in SLO—a place that has become very special to her.
“It’s my third time visiting SLO, and it’s like coming back as a friend,” she said laughing. “San Luis Obispo has a very special place in my heart.”
Agha hopes that the works in Liminal Space inspire people to reflect more on the world around them—something that requires learning to appreciate simple things like the threads on our clothes and the shadows on the walls.
“My intent with any art that I make is to make the place it is located in a healing space,” she said. “Not to say that SLO needs it compared to other places, but it is always important to have somewhere we can enjoy the silence and reflect.” Δ
Staff Writer Adrian Vincent Rosas is reflecting on the silence that serves as the foundation of creativity. Reach him at arosas@newtimesslo.com
This article appears in Jul 6-16, 2023.