Huma Bhabha Untitled, 2013 Ink and collage on colour photo 61 x 45.7 cm 24 x 18 inches Framed: 74 x 59.5 cm / 29 1/8 x 23 1/2 inches Bhabha’s work confronts universal themes such as war, identity and memories of home. In her sculptures, work on paper and photography, Bhabha creates fictionalised tableaus, which situate the figure in the landscape and combine sci-fi iconography with traditional cultural references. These photographs were taken in Pakistan, Italy and New York and are overlaid with expressive drawings in coloured ink. The works depict portraits of anonymous other-worldly figures and articulate the artist’s painterly skill. Picasso-esque in form, these works blend figuration with a Modernist abstraction, producing a vibrant, enchanting effect. In these re-worked photographs the artist undermines the documentary tradition with a darker, personal and often fantastical dimension. Here, memory and nostalgia collide with the reality of the present.
