Zarina Keyani's current work is in paint and print. Hailing from a multi-ethnic textile
background, she is inspired by landscapes. She was recently shortlisted for the
'Neo Print Prize' and 'The Sunday Times Watercolour Competition' which is
currently exhibiting at The Lightbox in Surrey.
( All pieces approx 14cm sq., black ink on paper. )
Interview with Zarina Keyani
What is the connection between these prints and the colour series - 'Landscape' - that preceded it?
The prints are further abstractions of paintings whose concepts
originated in landscape. Known as the Landscape series, the paintings reference
my experience of landscape as an interaction with colour, line and intersection. The prints in this selection are a microview of those original
concepts, hence they continue to be known as Landscape. The monochromatic element of the prints is a
further attempt at reduction.
How do you feel about working with a single colour, rather
than the full spectrum?
I have often worked with a single colour. With print its all about the tones and
contrasts, which become more pronounced when colour is removed. In contrast, the paintings involve a range of
colours.
How did you make these monoprints?
These are actually etchings using aluminium plates. The detail has been cut into the surface
using acid. The plate is inked and then
the image produced. Some of the prints
were worked on two or three times to achieve the desired result.
Isn't it reductive, naming them 'landscapes'? Because the viewer's brain then tries to configure the images into something
familiar. Is that acceptable?
I think its just as relevant as Monet naming his paintings
of water lilies 'Water Lillies'. It is
what they are, and the viewer is encouraged to see something relevant to them.
It is the familiar, the known or the retrieved.
Are these in any way influenced by your textile work?
This seems to happen in a subconscious way, but the work
often has the appearance of woven textiles. So I guess I am influenced to some extent.
What are the other influences on this series..?
I do like taking photographs of wherever I go, and I think
this informs the work in a second-hand way. Its me looking through the viewfinder and being selective. Once I have
an image I find it very hard to discard it even if its a bad image. It becomes part of a history.
