{"id":11196,"date":"2014-02-14T12:04:33","date_gmt":"2014-02-14T12:04:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tat.reddaisytrading.co.uk\/index.php\/2014\/02\/14\/tayeba-begum-lipi-never-been-intimate-exhibition\/"},"modified":"2014-02-14T12:04:33","modified_gmt":"2014-02-14T12:04:33","slug":"tayeba-begum-lipi-never-been-intimate-exhibition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/2014\/02\/14\/tayeba-begum-lipi-never-been-intimate-exhibition\/","title":{"rendered":"Tayeba Begum Lipi: \u201cNEVER BEEN INTIMATE\u201d Exhibition"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bangladeshi Artist Presents Works That Exemplify Her Very Literally Cutting<\/h3>\n
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In Tayeba Begum Lipi\u2019s first solo show in London, the Bangladeshi artist presents works that exemplify her very literally cutting<\/strong>\u2010<\/strong>edge artistic practice. Running from 27 February \u2013 31 March 2013, <\/strong>Never Been Intimate <\/em><\/strong>will be on show at Pi Artworks, London after debuting at the gallery\u2019s Istanbul location in late 2013, also marking the artist\u2019s first show in the Turkish capital.<\/strong><\/div>\n

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Overlapping panels of shiny silvery metal take shape as everyday items, encompassing a bath tub, baby pram, picture frame, woman\u2019s handbag and even a bra in what at first appears to be a smooth, tantalising and luxurious surface \u2013 as if each item were encased in its very own suit of expensive armour. Closer inspection, however, exposes a deadly beauty as each metal panel reveals itself to be a razor blade, the light reflecting off its honed edges. Meanwhile, as the eye focuses on a bikini seemingly comprised of soft gold mesh, one finds that it is instead made up of a matrix of tightly woven safety pins, the points of each mercifully encased in the catch.<\/div>\n

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With titles such as The Stolen Dream <\/em>and Trapped<\/em>, Bangladeshi artist Tayeba Begum Lipi\u2019s works belie in turns an air of sadness and danger. She turns regular everyday objects into items with an unearthly beauty. Simultaneously she manages to embed deep emotion within a seemingly cold material. \u201cOver the past two years I have been working with objects that I feel to be really intimate, yet are not intimate to me,\u201d explains the artist. \u201cThere is a distance between me and the object, yet at the same time, I feel close to them.\u201d Let\u2019s Take a Break, <\/em>a bathtub made of razorblades, exemplifies one such desire \u2013 how often do we promise ourselves we will take a break, maybe soak in the bath and then never manage to do so? Similarly, Comfy Bikinis<\/em>, made of safety pins is rendered sterile, no longer a sensuous item of clothing.<\/div>\n

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The artist\u2019s use of the razor blade dates back from her childhood. One of 12 siblings, the young Lipi was surrounded by the growing families of her older brothers and sisters. A local midwife would attend to the impending arrival of each new addition to the family. Lipi recalls how each was accompanied by the purchase of a brand new razor blade, which would then be sterilised in boiling water. \u201cThis image has stayed with me,\u201d she says, \u201cI was rather scared of the whole thing.\u201d It was later, as an adult at a residency in Pakistan that she stumbled upon black razor blades at the local market. Intrigued by the idea of combining black and \u2018white\u2019 (silver) blades, she debuted her work Edge<\/em>. \u201cWhat struck me was that everybody wanted to touch the work,\u201d she says. \u201cThese were real razor blades, they were incredibly sharp, yet there was something tempting about the work and its shininess. I found a strong connection with this element.\u201d Safety pins soon followed, partially inspired by the fact that they, like other sharp items, can be used as self defence items for women \u2013 keys, sharp pens, pins \u2013 these are all small items that women may carry with them or clutch in their hands. \u201cThe one thing that always comes to mind when I think of that is the idea that women are carrying these sharp objects and saying \u2018OK, touch me, and you are going to hurt,\u201d she smiles.<\/div>\n

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It was at the suggestion of her husband, fellow artist and long\u2010time collaborator Mahbubur Rahman that she began fabricating her own razor blades, allowing her to work with different sizes and bend and manipulate each blade as required. The result was The Bizarre and the Beautiful, <\/em>as part of the Bangladesh Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011. Since then, razor works have encompassed items that represent Lipi\u2019s desires (bath tubs, bikinis), social observations (women\u2019s handbags and their social status) and personal stories (children and family). \u201cThe handbag in particular is new,\u201d she explains, \u201cas it is such a personal item for a women, not even my husband knows what\u2019s inside my handbag! And yet there is a craze for women to have extremely expensive handbags, so I thought, OK, there\u2019s something witty and fun I can play with here.\u201d<\/div>\n

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The exhibition at Pi Artworks Istanbul will showcase a selection of Lipi\u2019s new works, from 2012 and 2013, and with their evocative titles, including The Nighty, Touch Me <\/em>and Personal Entity, <\/em>are both alluring and deadly, angry yet sad, drawing in yet pushing away. They are a testament to Lipi\u2019s extremely personal stories and observations, and yet, in their cold, white beauty, embody a tenderness that one could never hope to hold.<\/div>\n

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Bangladeshi artist Tayeba Begum Lipi (1969) creates her iconic reflective sculptural works out of dangerous, yet everyday items such as razor blades and safety pins. This imbues her beautiful creations with a deadly undercurrent, rendering each delicate item with a sinister, and at times, melancholy, undertone. Receiving her MFA in Drawing and Painting from the Institute of Fine Art University in Dhaka (1993), she has exhibited extensively throughout her native Bangladesh, and as far and wide as Finland, Holland, Italy, Indonesia, the UK and the USA. Seminal exhibitions include the group show No Country: Contemporary Art for South and Southeast Asia <\/em>at the Guggenheim. Curated by June Yap, the show has traveled to Singapore and Hong Kong. She also represented Bangladesh at the country\u2019s national pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011. Lipi\u2019s work can be found in major public collections around the world, including the Samdani Art Foundation and Devi Art Foundation, while awards include the 2004 Grand Prize at the 11th Asian Art Biennale in Bangladesh. Her first exhibition in Turkey was held at Pi Artworks Istanbul, where it ran from 1 November \u2013 30 December 2013.<\/div>\n

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Pi Artworks was founded by Yesim Turanli in 1998 in Istanbul and for the past 15<\/div>\n

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years, has been introducing Turkish and international artists to the primary market. Since its founding, Pi Artworks has been committed to showcasing the best of Contemporary Turkish and international art to Istanbul’s growing art scene, alongside providing an international platform for its roster of artists to showcase their work. The gallery is located at the famous historical Misir Apartmani in Istanbul and in October 2013 Pi Artworks London opened on 55 Eastcastle Street, in the heart of London’s bustling Fitzrovia.<\/div>\n

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Exhibition<\/strong>: \u201cNEVER BEEN INTIMATE\u201d<\/div>\n

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Location<\/strong>: 55 Eastcastle Street, W1W 8EG, London, UK<\/div>\n

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Dates: <\/strong>27 February \u2010 31 March 2014<\/div>\n

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Hours<\/strong>: Mon\u2010Fri 10am \u2010 6pm; Sat 11am\u20106pm (Sundays closed)<\/div>\n

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Bangladeshi Artist Presents Works That Exemplify Her Very Literally Cutting In Tayeba Begum Lipi\u2019s first solo show in London, the Bangladeshi artist presents works that exemplify her very literally cutting\u2010edge artistic practice. Running from 27 February \u2013 31 March 2013, Never Been Intimate will be on show at Pi Artworks, London after debuting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11196\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}