Fragrance and Feminine
Fragrance and Feminine
Artist
Amber Khokhar.
Artwork Title & Inspiration
'Fragrance and Feminine'.
A complimentary painting to ‘Feminine and Prayer’ that are part of the Entwined series, illustrating the poem 'The Fragrant Scent'. The ‘Fragrance’ of the artwork is represented by the Cypress Tree and implied by the pen name of the poet Farīd ud-Dīn ʿAṭṭār author of ‘The Conference of the Birds’. ‘Attar’ can translate as perfume; the ‘Feminine’ is suggested by the Hoopoe bird who was instrumental in the courtship of the Prophet King Solomon and Queen Bilqis and ‘Prayer’ in the upright structure of the Cypress tree.
The detailing includes a central section of ‘Squared Kufic’; as well as ‘Huwa’ (“He”), a word revered by many followers of Sufism. Here the artist has chosen to angle the traditionally squared Kufic.
Included is the transliteration of a prayer from Arabic into English, familiar to many English speaking Muslims. At the tip of the Cypress Tree is the feathered tail of the HudHud or Hoopoe in flight whilst at the base of the tree lies a fallen feather. A messenger between the Prophet Suleyman (pbuh) and his future Queen Bilquis. The Hoopoe is also a guide to the Simorgh (30 birds) as penned by Farīd ud-Dīn ʿAṭṭār in ‘The Conference of the Birds’. Along the side of the Cypress Tree is a section of ‘The Celestial Spheres’ as held by the Angel Ruh from an illustration of Al-Qazwini’s works ‘The Wonders of Creation and the Oddities of Existence’.
Paintings and prints from The Entwined series have been exhibited at The Prince's Foundation School of Traditional Art, London, Queen’s Museum of Art, NY, and the Taubman Museum of Art, Virginia, USA. Throughout this body of work artist Amber Khokhar explores a narrative that is deeply rooted in the ‘Traditional’ while traversing the ‘tumults and tribulations of dunya’.
Artwork Category
Painting.
Physical Description
Mixed media including natural pigment, applied with squirrel hair brush from Lahore. Paper sized and processed with six different colours in the background.
Dimensions
39.55 x 42 cm.
Country of Origin
United Kingdom.
LOT 94
Amber Khokhar
Artist and designer Amber Khokhar combines her strong background in design with a diverse academic and practical knowledge of traditional arts. Her achievements in Western design provide an arresting complement to her interest in her personal heritage and her enthusiasm for craft and design.
For over a decade Amber held a lectureship at Birkbeck, University of London on the World Art and Artefacts Programme where she specialised in patterns from three empires; Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal. As a design graduate from Central Saint Martin’s, she continued her commitment to the advancement and regeneration of Sacred and Traditional Arts as senior tutor on the Master’s programme at The Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts. Her project with the De Morgan Foundation included a lecture at The London Mathematical Society, which explored ways of integrating art with mathematics.
Amber's compositions often consist of vegetal overlaps that draw one into an enchanted vegetal world of swirls, tendrils, stems, and flowers. Her tiles display exuberant naturalistic motifs that characterise the Iznik style of ceramic decoration that flourished under the Ottoman Turks, whilst her more geometric works betray a similar love for vegetal life through hue and tone.
Her paintings and prints from The Entwined series have been exhibited at The Prince's Foundation School of Traditional Art, Queen’s Museum of Art, New York, and the Taubman Museum of Art, Virginia, USA. Throughout her journey as an artist Amber explores a narrative that is deeply rooted in the ‘Traditional’ while traversing the ‘tumults and tribulations of dunya’.
VIDEO: 'The Fragrant Scent' by Amber Khokhar.
Amber's compositions often consist of vegetal overlaps that draw one into an enchanted vegetal world of swirls, tendrils, stems, and flowers. Her tiles display exuberant naturalistic motifs that characterise the Iznik style of ceramic decoration that flourished under the Ottoman Turks, whilst her more geometric works betray a similar love for vegetal life through hue and tone.
Amber's commissioned 40m by 6m carpet at the Picture Gallery, Buckingham Palace.
Amber conducts workshops and lectures at various institutions including The Prince's Foundation School of Traditional Arts and Birkbeck College in London. Amber’s ceramics, paintings and geometric works have been exhibited locally and internationally including The William Morris Gallery, Clarence House in London and The Queen’s Museum in New York. She continues to work from her studio in London on bespoke commissions, creating highly collectable artworks.