Exhibition Reviews

摘要

The Jameel Prize is an international competition for contemporary art and design inspired by Islamic tradition. This was the third biennial award by the V&A in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives. The small exhibition at the V&A featured the ten shortlisted finalists, three of whom are textile artists. Faig Ahmed, as part of a varied arts practice, designs handmade carpets based on the weaving traditions of his homeland, Azerbaijan. Two examples were displayed. They followed conventional, traditional designs, but part of the pattern in each one had been reconfigured. In Pixelate Tradition (2010), the top half of the rug had been pixelated; in Hollow(2011), the pattern appears to have collapsed in one corner. Ahmed explained, in a video clip introducing the artists, that he is not attempting to merge past and present, but is interested in the past because he regards it as 'the most stable conception of our lives'. By disrupting designs, he is attempting to show how ideas that have developed since ancient times are being 'changed in moments'.