Amal Al Gurg, Daniah Al Saleh, Elizabeth Dorazio, Arezu Karoobi, Stephanie Neville, Naz Shahrokh, and Huma Shoaib
Curated by Anna Seaman
11 January 2020 – 18 February, 2020
XVA Gallery is pleased to present Wolf Tone, a group exhibition of seven female artists whose work individually addresses areas of life that are often overlooked or ignored.
Curated by guest curator Anna Seaman, the exhibition takes its title from musical theory. A wolf tone is a musical term used in particular reference to stringed instruments. It is the name for an artificial overtone that amplifies and expands the frequencies of a played musical note and is produced when the original note matches the natural resonant frequency of the body of the musical instrument. Most musicians try to eliminate or tame wolf tones as problem notes.
This exhibition aims to shed light on life’s ‘wolf-tones’. Artists may choose to highlight the ‘wolf’ by placing emphasis on those things that we overlook or take for granted or they may break down the components of daily experience and repackage them in a way that allows the audience to take notice of the previously ignored.
Included in the exhibition are (in alphabetical order): Amal Al Gurg; Daniah Al Saleh; Elizabeth Dorazio; Arezu Karoobi; Stephanie Neville; Naz Shahrokh; and Huma Shoaib.
Amal Al Gurg (b.1985, Dubai) is graphic-inspired calligraphic artist. Her screenprint Haram/Halal uses iterations of the Arabic letter ha (?) in black and white on a grey background. Her work symbolically and literally discusses the ‘grey area’ or the space between extremes in which so much of life operates.
Daniah Al Saleh (b.1970, Riyadh) won the second edition of the Ithra Art Prize in 2019. She is a London-based multidisciplinary artist with an interest in computational art. Here, she presents a new series Disobedient Affects, which explores the social norms expected of an individual to fit in to the wider community.
Elizabeth Dorazio (b. 1961, Araguari) draws on her Brazilian heritage across her wide and varied practice. On Nature takes its conceptual roots from Greek philosophy and the natural environment to create imaginary and deeply complex landscape drawings.
Arezu Karoobi (b.1983, Tehran) addresses the objectification of the female by redefining the meaning of object and questioning the meaning of subject, or agency. Her work is inspired by her personal experience of living in patriarchal societies.
Stephanie Neville (b.1973, Pretoria) is a Dubai-based artist who often uses textile and craft-based practices with a critical interest in social web-based constructs. Here, she exhibits two collections scrutinising the gestures we take for granted in loving relationships.
Naz Shahrokh (b.1969, Tehran) presents photographic works focused on the journey of life itself. Through delicate landscapes depicting roads, she reminds us of the steps we must take to achieve our goals.
Huma Shoaib (b.1981, Lahore) uses sacred geometry in her paper-cut creations, which take the honey bee as their base. She chooses to use bees for their spiritual and ecological significance, as a powerful interpretation of the precarious balance of human existence.
Anna Seaman says: “These seven artists have individually highlighted widely varied and undercelebrated aspects of life, which are as essential as building blocks and that converge to create this exhibition. Much like a musical score, their practices undulate and operate at different volumes, however, I have attempted to bring unity to the composition. Through a diversity of media and different interpretations of the theme, the collaborative result is one that opens our eyes to that which we normally ignore. With this exhibition, I want to amplify the natural frequencies of everyday life:”