A continuing theme within Shaheen's artwork is the exploration of patterns, signs and motifs. Simple grids and geometric shapes along with abstract patterns and calligraphy are ritually overlaid, all demonstrating the importance to her of ‘the hand of the artist’. This process of contemplation and repetitive rhythm within Shaheen's current practise evokes her childhood memories of play and reading along with constructing and connecting. Shaheen's work is her therapy, the marks symbolise her ritualistic nature dealing with the onslaught of the world around her.

 

Indra Khanna Independant Curator

 

Shaheen Ahmed's strangely beguiling bookwork combines child play, dervish ritual and retail therapy. In the darkest black ink, bold Arabic numerals and lettering sweep across the pages of high street store catalogues. As we turn the heavily treated pages we discover a soul at times struggling with then embracing the visual onslaught of consumer culture. A repetitive dialogue opens up on the pages of the Habitat, Muji and Marks and Spencer books, using Japanese sumi ink her black brush strokes seem anxious to nullify the overload of multicoloured consumable objects so beautifully shot and composed on the glossy pages. This is a brave and bold journey, unrehearsed, where we glimpse a child playing, making patterns and finding a hidden symmetry in the compositions, only suddenly to awake from the anaesthesia and questions the point of all this stuff, what the hell is it for? And why do I want it so badly? Painful and beautiful all at once.

 

Taz Bashier Curator/Mentor/Artist.

 

IKON GALLERY and the Slow Boat project

 

I refer to Shaheen’s role in particular, which highlights our ever-embracing engagement

 

within communities. Shaheen is an artist currently employed in an outreach capacity working

 

with diverse communities in Birmingham.

 

She uses the local waterways as a backdrop and a focus for the programme of activity she

 

devised known as Craft Journeys, in which art is used therapeutically and explores folk

 

traditions. Through Craft Journeys, Shaheen has identified striking similarities between

 

traditional Bengali, Afghani, Indian and Pakistan folk art imagery with traditional Roses and

 

Castles narrowboat decoration seen widely on boats in Britain. Other common ground may be

 

found in the fact that in all these countries buses, trucks and boats are beautifully adorned

 

with paintings. The very notion of these ancient ways from once far-off lands being allied to

 

18th Century narrowboat decoration as an aid to enhancing social mobility in the 21st is, by

 

any yardstick, captivating.

 

Graham Fisher MBE

West Midlands Waterways Partnership

April 2013