Image of Promiscuous Intimacies sculpture in bronze with varied patina
'Promiscuous Intimacies' 2020. Patinated Bronze. 42 x 24 x 18 inches. Courtesy of the artist and Sean Kelly Gallery.

Shahzia Sikander: Unbound exhibition

16 October 2021 10.00 - 18 February 2022 18.00
Add to Calendar16/10/2021 10:0018/02/2022 18:00Europe/LondonShahzia Sikander: Unbound exhibitionhttps://www.jesus.cam.ac.uk//events/shahzia-sikander-unbound-exhibitionWest Court Gallery, Jesus College, 22 Jesus Lane, Cambridge CB5 8BLfalseDD/MM/YYYY15Jesus Collegeevent_11162confirmed
West Court Gallery, Jesus College, 22 Jesus Lane, Cambridge CB5 8BL

Open from 10am to 6pm each day*, Jesus College is delighted to be hosting Shahzia Sikander: Unboundan exhibition of work from renowned artist Shahzia Sikander.

Can decolonisation entail forms of intimacy? In the search for an answer to this question, this free exhibition focuses on the earlier and more recent works of Pakistani-American artist Shahzia Sikander (b. 1969).

Over the course of her career, Sikander has been a pioneer in the study of early modern archives of Islamic and South Asian manuscripts for her contemporary practice. Given its legacy of colonialism, the United Kingdom holds some of the largest collections of the very manuscripts Sikander uncovers and deconstructs. The exhibition examines her innovations within manuscript techniques such as serialisation, cutting and pasting, and calligraphy. Sikander experiments with these practices in a range of media including drawing, painting, print, mosaic, animation, and, most recently, sculpture.

New paintings made by the artist in response to a seventeenth-century album of erotic Indian paintings in the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum will also be on display.

*The exhibition will temporarily close from 23 December 2021 – 3 January 2022 inclusive. 

COVID guidelines

Please bring a face covering with you and follow local signage explaining where to wear it. Please be aware that we may need to limit the number of people in the gallery space at any one time. 

Please take a Lateral Flow Test before you visit Jesus College, and do not attend if you have any COVID-19 symptoms. 

Exhibition supporters and symposium

The exhibition is supported by the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge, the Pilar Corrias Gallery and the Bagri Foundation, London. It is curated by Dr Vivek Gupta, Postdoctoral Associate in Islamic Art, with the assistance of History of Art students.

It is accompanied by a scholarly symposium at Jesus College, which will be open to the public on 11–12 February 2022.