Ancestors Circle 2014
Fahd Burki (1981 – )
Details
- Dimension
- 45 x 34.5 cm
- Media
- screenprint
- Accession number
- P8588
Summary
Fahd Burki (born Lahore, Pakistan, 1981) is known for his works on paper employing acrylic, charcoal, marker pen and collage. These works frequently present abstract graphic fields that contain a central form dominating the picture plane. The sources for these forms range from tribal folk art to science fiction. Although these sharp-edged forms can be seen to refer to the type of icons associated with digital media, they are painstakingly produced by hand and, as Murtaza Vali has noted, ‘the result is a series of always playful, at times menacing icons or symbols harvested from a personal mythology of the present, at once disconcertingly familiar and completely novel.’
‘Working primarily as a painter and sculptor, Burki’s residency gave him the opportunity to explore the potential of printmaking in his practice. The transition was a relatively natural one. ‘Ancestors Circle’ was produced using software to realize flat fields of colour with the crisp, sharp outlines characteristic of the artist’s work. He produced five printing separations which were printed from computer on to acetate; these acetates were then exposed on to prepared screens, coated with a light sensitive emulsion, and then printed individually by hand. Although a technically complex work, the image itself is strikingly simple. Aware of the proliferation in Scotland of Neolithic stone circles and the myths these structures embody, the work alludes to Burki’s ongoing research in to universal symbols and archetypes.’[1]
[1] Alastair Clark, Edinburgh Printmakers
Glossary
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Acrylic
Modern synthetic paint that combines some of the properties of oils and watercolour. Most are water-based, although some are oil compatible, using turpentine as a thinner. When it became available to artists in America around 1936 it was the first new painting medium in centuries and has become a serious rival to oil paint because of its versatility. Acrylic paints can be used on nearly any surface. The water-based nature of acrylic paint allows for easy application and rapid drying time: acrylic paint dries in a matter of minutes, as opposed to the many months required for oil-based paints. Once the paint has been applied to a surface, the water evaporates, leaving behind the synthetic resin (and pigment), which is no longer water-soluble. Visually, acrylic-based paints can appear to be very similar to oil-based paints, but they cannot rival the rich, translucent nature of oils.
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Collage
The two-dimensional form of assemblage made by affixing paper, card, photographs, fabric and other objects to a flat surface. It is often combined with painting and drawing techniques. This technique was first introduced by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in 1912 during their phase of synthetic cubism.