Panel Talk: Aqsa Arif and Ayesha Jones, in conversation with Arpita Shah.
Saturday 15th August, 3pm
Join us for a panel discussion with our two current exhibiting artists Ayesha Jones and Aqsa Arif, in conversation with photographic artist and educator Arpita Shah.
This is a unique opportunity to gain insight into the projects currently on display in the gallery and to hear the artists reflect on the ideas, processes, and experiences that have shaped the work. The discussion will explore the connections between the two bodies of work, highlighting both their commonalities and distinct approaches. While each artist has their own story and unique visual language, they are united by a shared exploration of identity, particularly the experiences and misrepresentations of women.
Aqsa Arif is an award-winning Scottish-Pakistani artist and filmmaker based in Glasgow. She incorporates film, printmaking, photography and poetry to construct installations in which she explores themes of dual heritage, migration and cultural dissonance. Beneath the Ivory is Molten Brown combines moving image installation and textile photo prints, crafting a narrative of the Lakshmi/Yakshi/Nymph, oscillating between South Asian ancestral memory and western assimilation. Drawing on resonances between South Asian and Greco-Roman mythic forms, Aqsa embodies the misnamed “Pompeii Lakshmi,” a first-century CE Indian ivory statuette discovered in 1938. Estranged from her origins as a yakshi and reshaped through translation and reclassification, her avatar becomes a site of composite identity, reflecting historical Roman practices in which imported deities and motifs were absorbed, adapted, and transformed within visual culture.
Ayesha Jones (b. 1990) is a West Midlands–based artist working with photography and film. Her practice explores art as a catalyst for growth, healing, and social impact. The Backbone, explores idiopathic scoliosis as a lens to address female health more broadly. This intimate work brings together personal narratives and collective life stories, illuminating the experiences of females who have been historically marginalised in medical discourse. The work highlights often-overlooked narratives surrounding female experiences, emphasising the importance of visibility, representation, and research in transforming healthcare and societal perceptions. The Backbone was featured by the BBC and exhibited at the Saatchi Gallery and The Royal Photographic Society (RPS).
Arpita Shah is a photographic artist and educator based in Eastbourne, UK. She works between photography and film, exploring the fields where culture and identity meet. As an India-born artist, Shah spent an earlier part of her life living between India, Ireland and the Middle East before settling in the UK. This migratory experience is reflected in her practice, which focuses on the notion of home, belonging and shifting cultural identities. Her work has been exhibited internationally and across the UK, and is held in various collections including the National Galleries of Scotland and Autograph ABP. Shah was featured in The Guardian as one of seven groundbreaking female photographers from around the world. Her exhibition 'Nalini' is currently on show at Firstsite, Colchester, and is a Street Level Photoworks touring exhibition.
Banner Image: Beneath the Ivory is Molten Brown © Aqsa Arif
Inset Image: The Backbone © Ayesha Jones
