Areez Katki b. 1989
Dream Valves, 2023
Kaolinite clay, raku, Caspian Sea sand
(HSN code: 970300)
(HSN code: 970300)
individual parts varied
total upon installation(base): 12.2 x 16.5 x 6.2 inches
total upon installation(base): 12.2 x 16.5 x 6.2 inches
Copyright Areez Katki, 2023
The newest addition to Katki’s visual language is a three-dimensional vernacular that may seem a drastic departure from his formally painted or embroidered two-dimensional works, often dealing with soft materialities...
The newest addition to Katki’s visual language is a three-dimensional vernacular that may seem a drastic departure from his formally painted or embroidered two-dimensional works, often dealing with soft materialities and installation modes. However, when one views these works from afar, it becomes evident how and why the artist has ventured into the area of earth-based forms. Kaolinite clay, as a material sourced and processed from the earth’s crust, is one of the most charged cultural markers of geographic locationality; thus, land, which is directly connected to, is till today one of the most disputed earthly resources. Katki’s fascination with archaeology and materials from the quotidian, often found and restored, has seen him venture into this arena of excavation and restoration. Archaeology, however, is a practice that has been put under scrutiny by the artist in various past iterations of his work.
Dream Valves is a series of forms based on the inscribed cylinders of a Sumerian ruler, Gudea, which are the earliest examples of a dream being recollected and transcribed on a surface, dating back to 2120 BC. These eight varied clay cylinders cite this practice of recording dreams, much like the Oneiria works by Katki did, with proto-writing and non-linguistic markings as the mode of etching (using either his nail, a needle or a stick) fragmented images and motifs onto clay before the cylinders were fired. These were often inconsistent and incoherent dreams that the artist recorded over April-May 2023: some were intricate and rich in detail while others were recalled as enigmatic fragments. Another noteworthy detail about the forms and title of this cluster of sculptures is how the cylinders resemble pipes or valves—alluding to fragmented arteries of various sizes that course through the inner workings of a body, be it a biological body or the body of an architectural structure: the dream patterns inscribed on these valves are thus regarded as the immaterial substances which course through the affective centers of one’s interior sanctuaries—a metaphor for the mind’s subconscious inner workings.
Dream Valves is a series of forms based on the inscribed cylinders of a Sumerian ruler, Gudea, which are the earliest examples of a dream being recollected and transcribed on a surface, dating back to 2120 BC. These eight varied clay cylinders cite this practice of recording dreams, much like the Oneiria works by Katki did, with proto-writing and non-linguistic markings as the mode of etching (using either his nail, a needle or a stick) fragmented images and motifs onto clay before the cylinders were fired. These were often inconsistent and incoherent dreams that the artist recorded over April-May 2023: some were intricate and rich in detail while others were recalled as enigmatic fragments. Another noteworthy detail about the forms and title of this cluster of sculptures is how the cylinders resemble pipes or valves—alluding to fragmented arteries of various sizes that course through the inner workings of a body, be it a biological body or the body of an architectural structure: the dream patterns inscribed on these valves are thus regarded as the immaterial substances which course through the affective centers of one’s interior sanctuaries—a metaphor for the mind’s subconscious inner workings.
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