The mysteries of forgotten cities and atmospheric compositions

Ali Kazim, Pakistan b.1979 / Untitled (ruins series) 2018 / Watercolour pigments on paper / Four sheets: 206 x 456cm (overall) / Purchased 2018 with funds from the Contemporary Patrons through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Ali Kazim

Ali Kazim, Pakistan b.1979 / Untitled (ruins series) 2018 / Watercolour pigments on paper / Four sheets: 206 x 456cm (overall) / Purchased 2018 with funds from the Contemporary Patrons through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Ali Kazim / View full image

Ali Kazim creates highly crafted works that experiment with painterly techniques to create atmospheric, dream-like qualities. In precise detail, Kazim captures the stillness of a deserted landscape or a sudden transformation as a storm tears through parched terrain. His paintings are based on the Punjab region of Pakistan – once home to a large part of the Indus Valley Civilisation and now scattered with ancient ruins.

Kazim is interested in the history of Pakistan’s landscapes and the ancient civilizations that once inhabited the region, particularly imagining the stories hidden in unexcavated remains, regularly visiting these ruins, studying the mounds that form the contours of the landscape, and searching the sites of long-abandoned cities, which are partly exposed or still buried.

Mound in Punjab, Pakistan, 2018 / Photograph courtesy: Ali Kazim

Mound in Punjab, Pakistan, 2018 / Photograph courtesy: Ali Kazim / View full image

Mound in Punjab, Pakistan, 2018 / Photograph courtesy: Ali Kazim

Mound in Punjab, Pakistan, 2018 / Photograph courtesy: Ali Kazim / View full image

Ali Kazim discusses his work

Ali Kazim, Pakistan b.1979 / Untitled (ruins series) 2018 / Watercolour pigments on paper / Four sheets: 206 x 456cm (overall) / Purchased 2018 with funds from the Contemporary Patrons through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Purchased 2018 with funds from the Contemporary Patrons through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Ali Kazim

Working in a range of techniques, styles and scales, he draws on a repertoire of techniques and materials to access these emotive surroundings and conjure the mysteries of forgotten cities. The large landscape is informed by Siyah Qalam, a fleetingly popular form of Persian painting influenced by the ink painting traditions of East Asia, whereby multiple layers of ink were applied with a fine brush.

Ali Kazim, Pakistan b.1979 / Untitled (storm series) 2018 / Pigments on mylar / 32 x 42cm / Purchased 2018 with funds from the Contemporary Patrons through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Ali Kazim

Ali Kazim, Pakistan b.1979 / Untitled (storm series) 2018 / Pigments on mylar / 32 x 42cm / Purchased 2018 with funds from the Contemporary Patrons through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Ali Kazim / View full image

Ali Kazim, Pakistan b.1979 / Untitled (cloud series) 2018 / Pigments on mylar / 32 x 42cm / Purchased 2018 with funds from the Contemporary Patrons through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Ali Kazim

Ali Kazim, Pakistan b.1979 / Untitled (cloud series) 2018 / Pigments on mylar / 32 x 42cm / Purchased 2018 with funds from the Contemporary Patrons through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Ali Kazim / View full image

Kazim also creates atmospheric compositions on polyester film rendered in pigment with cotton or soft brushes, delicate paintings that capture a sudden moment of transformation as severe weather tears through parched terrain. Stencils and erasers are used to detail bolts of lightning, and storm and dust clouds, elements that momentarily bring the landscapes to life.

Kazim is also interested in how pottery shards have transformed over centuries from practical objects to remnants of deserted and forgotten places, and the blackened ceramics bear organic lines or veins to resemble both rocks and organs.

Installation view Cloud Series 2018; Storm Series 2018; Lightning Series 2018; Ruin Series 2017. APT9, GOMA

Installation view Cloud Series 2018; Storm Series 2018; Lightning Series 2018; Ruin Series 2017. APT9, GOMA / View full image

Watch or Read about Asia Pacific artists / Know Brisbane through the QAGOMA Collection / Delve into our Queensland Stories / Read about Australian Art / Subscribe to QAGOMA YouTube to go behind-the-scenes

APT9 has been assisted by our Founding Supporter Queensland Government and Principal Partner the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body, and the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Governments.

Featured image detail: Ali Kazim’s Untitled (ruins series) 2018
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