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Aisha Rosli: Black Eye Solo Exhibition

When:

Thu Jan 21 2021, 12:00pm–7:00pm

Where: Cuturi Gallery, 61 Aliwal Street, Bugis, Singapore

Restrictions: All ages

Ticket Information:

  • Admission: Free

Listed by: Cuturigallery

Cuturi Gallery is proud to present Black Eye, the highly anticipated solo exhibition by Aisha Rosli (b. 1997, Singapore). In this ongoing series of works, Rosli conveys and gives form to the complex and weighted sense of being, laying bare an intimate lens into her exploration of the human condition and experience.

Referencing 20th century painters Francis Bacon and Egon Schiele, as well as contemporaries such as Marlene Dumas, Rosli works within the tradition of figurative painting, driven by a mode of interrogation affixed to our bodily presence. Exploring themes of solitude, concealment, proximity and desire, she presents figures inhabiting constructed scenes and situations that pander towards the uncanny. Rosli primarily works with acrylic and oil sticks, where her tendencies to layer and glaze her paintings comprise multiple iterations of concealing and revealing states of mind apropos one’s physicality. She is known for incorporating recognisable stylised patterns such as stripes, gingham and lattice into her paintings, which serve as an important device for her to anchor the uncanny in and around her characters. To this end, Rosli’s figurative manifestations dwell in obscure environments that appear curiously familiar, yielding a certain enigmatic quality to unpacking her psychologically charged works.

In Black Eye, Rosli touches on the aftermath of ambiguous situations implicated in the appearance of a black eye, relating to multiple scenarios insinuating states of distress, anxiety, insomnia. Appearing solitary and detached, the figures emanate a sense of numbness that is both self-contained, yet emanative through to the deceptively recognisable chambers they are confined in.

Each immersed in their own private world, these characters collectively map a mindscape of sorts, weaving a mental landscape of inner thoughts and musings that transpire within one’s own mind. They abscond the viewer’s direct line of sight, retreating into their inner sanctum to reveal contemplative states. As such, Rosli provokes the viewer into traversing this visual terrain spanning various windows into the private moments and situations that these figures are engaged in. Rendering it both inviting and unsettling, the viewer then often finds himself implicitly placed in a position of stealing illicit glances at these cloistered figures, towards piecing together the different visual elements found in Rosli’s detailed compositions that hint at narrative.

Together, Black Eye hinges on a shared vulnerability that takes the complex field of human emotions as a point of departure into unravelling and relating to the disposition of Rosli’s characters, and vice versa.

Born in Singapore, Rosli graduated from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) with a Diploma in Fine Art (Western Painting) in 2008. As of last year, Rosli was part of the inaugural roster of artists under c/discoveries, a programme dedicated to supporting young emerging artists helmed by Cuturi Gallery. Her work has since been featured in exhibitions at Sangkring Art Space, Yogyakarta (2018); Coda Culture, Singapore (2019); Cuturi Gallery, Singapore (2020); Unit London, London (2020); and Art Agenda, Singapore (2021).

Aisha Rosli: Black Eye is part of Singapore Art Week 2021 and will be on view at Cuturi Gallery from 23 Jan – 21 Feb 2021. Opening Weekend on January 23rd & 24th 12 to 8 pm. Admission is free.