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拍品專文
Laila Shawa was a renowned Palestinian artist known for her brave persona and bold artistic oeuvre. Born in Gaza in 1940, Being born in Gaza, Palestine in 1940 and Shawa received formal art training at the Leonardo da Vinci School in Cairo and the Academy of Fine Arts at the University of Rome. She later went back to Gaza to teach art at with the UN refugee camps before settling in London in 1987.
Working across multiple medias from sculpture to silkscreen,oil and acrylic, Laila Shawa was known for her use of bright colours and daring subject matter. Her artworks reflected her views as a Palestinian female artist revealing both her sociopolitical critiques of society as well as the harsh realities of Palestinians living under occupation.
After settling in London, Shawa started her infamous Women and the Veil series that captured her critical lens on the piece of clothing using irony and humour. She then embarked on her Women and Magic series which delved into the ideas and beliefs of the supernatural in Arab societies. The most famous of this series is an earlier rendition of The Hands of Fatima painted in 1989, held in the collection of the British Museum, London. Similar to the present work which dates from 2013, the painting depicts a group of women in bright colourful niqabs with the hands of Fatima placed among them. However, in this later revisit of the subject, Shawa’s humour and views are more clearly revealed. We see one of the women in the group without a niqab covering her face, rolling her eyes in disbelief at the other women. The other women are also more animated; their hands are raised and placed on either side of their faces, clearly in shock that can only be read through this gesture. Shawa’s playful and humorous manner shines in this later revisit of the Women and Magic series that cemented her place and influence as an Arab artist, making this a rare opportunity to acquire a work from this celebrated series.
Working across multiple medias from sculpture to silkscreen,oil and acrylic, Laila Shawa was known for her use of bright colours and daring subject matter. Her artworks reflected her views as a Palestinian female artist revealing both her sociopolitical critiques of society as well as the harsh realities of Palestinians living under occupation.
After settling in London, Shawa started her infamous Women and the Veil series that captured her critical lens on the piece of clothing using irony and humour. She then embarked on her Women and Magic series which delved into the ideas and beliefs of the supernatural in Arab societies. The most famous of this series is an earlier rendition of The Hands of Fatima painted in 1989, held in the collection of the British Museum, London. Similar to the present work which dates from 2013, the painting depicts a group of women in bright colourful niqabs with the hands of Fatima placed among them. However, in this later revisit of the subject, Shawa’s humour and views are more clearly revealed. We see one of the women in the group without a niqab covering her face, rolling her eyes in disbelief at the other women. The other women are also more animated; their hands are raised and placed on either side of their faces, clearly in shock that can only be read through this gesture. Shawa’s playful and humorous manner shines in this later revisit of the Women and Magic series that cemented her place and influence as an Arab artist, making this a rare opportunity to acquire a work from this celebrated series.