Zinging with colour, each of these small sculptures by Rana Begum consist of pieces of plywood constructed so as to appear as if they have been folded. Despite the solidity of each W Fold sculpture, there remains a sense of precariousness, a feeling that at any moment they might topple and fall.
The starting point for the sculptures are journeys that Begum makes as she navigates cities and urban environments. As she moves through a space, she notices the changing relationships between forms, colours and light, and she is interested in distilling these visual and spatial relationships into ordered forms, like the ones presented here. She is interested in how – as the viewer moves around the work – each sculpture provides alternative viewpoints of the same object, just as in everyday life we maintain or change our viewpoints of a subject at any given moment. As with much of her work, there is a potent sense of plurality – inviting us to ponder whether these are sculptures, paintings, architectural forms or, in fact, all three.
Begum’s work is influenced by the abstract forms of 20th century Minimalist art, as well as by the geometric patterns of traditional Islamic art and architecture. In an interview with art website, Inigo Art, in May 2017, Begum talked about the impact of colour and the urban environment on her work:
'I draw inspiration from what I see in the streets. I love the way colours and form clash or interact with each other. On city streets, choice of colour is rarely made by considering how it relates to the building next door…'
