Artist: Theo Eshetu

“Discussions of surface pattern in Islamic art resonate within broader tensions about the role of figural representation in communicating meaning. The question of whether geometric pattern communicates –whether it functions as a language without a code –reflects broader tensions about the relationship between secular and spiritual communication. Poised between discussions of modernism and Islam, the attribution of linguistic capacity to geometry serves as a measure for the possibility of abstracting pure reason from the religious roots of representationalism” (Wendy Shaw)

Theo Eshetu’s (*London, 1958) artworks explore time, movement, and light, as the primary sources for his artistic practice. Throughout his prolific four-decade career, he has explored numerous aspects of video-making, ranging from spectacular multiscreen video installations to video works and essay films. Through his art, Eshetu has explored the themes of perception and belonging, adopting a multicultural perspective stemming from his biographical background. His works result from an introspective enquiry into the fabrics of representation and image-making, a process that explores diverse identities and the interaction between world cultures. At the core, his work is a delirious, hypnotic and magical style born from a multi-perspective worldview.

The exhibition Veiled Woman on a Beachfront at Galerie Barbara Thumm consists of excerpts from The Lamu Project, a multimedia collection of artworks created during a one-month stay on the Islamic island of Lamu, Kenya, in 2011. By finding points of contact, the project aims to create a meaningful dialogue between two cultures with often diverging views on the role of images in forming and representing a culture. The exhibition’s title stems from one of the video installations from the project with the same name, originally presented at the 54th Venice Biennale’s Italian Pavilion in 2011.

The show comprises several video installations, a collection of photographic compositions and fine art prints, all of which create a map of relationships between two cultures. Combining modern art tropes with forms inspired by Islamic art, the project takes inspiration from daily life on the island of Lamu to explore communal meeting grounds, unify differences and explore visual forms. In so doing, Eshetu seeks to create a dialogue based on his experiences participating in social and religious events in situ. The island here stands as a metaphor: a breeding ground for ideas on representations and the expressive potential of the moving image. With this series of works, Eshetu explores the links between the formal properties of Islamic art and aspects of Western modernism. Here, Eshetu embodies the works of Kazimir Malevich, Mark Rothko, Lucio Fontana and Francis Bacon (among others), as well as the traditions of street photographers that have inspired his practice.

Digging into spiritual connections, existential communalities, and common aspirations, the multispatial display used in The Lamu Project allows each work to contribute to a formal aspect of the visual and conceptual relationships proposed. Each work uses signs and narratives that can be deciphered as alphabetical letters to create a language with which to speak. Such works can, therefore, be seen as pieces of a puzzle waiting to be recomposed in the viewer’s mind, similar to an alchemic drawing, in which signs and symbols make up the overall picture. By conjuring images that unite our collective imagination, the piece brings to mind Carl Jung’s work on symbols. Composed of archetypal representations, each fragment is a statement to be deciphered like an enigma. We are met with representations of the basic principles: male, female, landscape, eyesight, animals, shadows and darkness, and the cycles of time.

The Lamu Project holds a unique position in Eshetu’s body of work. The multiple perspectives and the complex non-linear narrative structures so often associated with his work have been put aside, or rather, split open into a series of interrelated works created in Lamu. Through its exploration of aniconism and geometries, the project embraces key aspects of Islamic art to uncover visualisations and representations of life on the island.