Shirazeh Houshiary 

‘I set out to capture my breath…to find the essence of my own existence, transcending name, nationality, cultures’ (Lisson Gallery, 2000) I think this is such a fascinating pursuit, this substance that seems impossible to physically grasp and yet has such substance at the same time. I can also see links here with Roni Horn’s understanding of ‘when I breathe, I draw’. I have chosen to look at Houshiary’s work as breath is a central element to her practice. 

‘Where forms dematerialise and materialise in a veil of colour and repetitive forms’ (Ocula, 2018) Houshiary’s liquid-like qualities teeter on the edge of something becoming and departing, revealing/concealing, stabilising/eroding. It is a theme of tension that runs throughout her work. My favourite works are those that give an ‘impression of atmospheric…energy’ (Ocula, 2018) the way in which she can render marks to ‘swirl, undulate…quiver and vibrate’ (Ocula, 2018) so much so that they begin to pulse with a sense of consciousness. They create a visual experience. 

As part of this experience, she discusses the relationship between her paintings and sculptures, the movement between 2d and 3d as questioning the role of the body within her works, where is the body? ‘It’s really about understanding your position and moving from one experience to another…to go from one way of looking – say from two dimensional to three dimensional…allows me to maybe glimpse at something that is in-between all these stages’ (Ocula, 2018)

I think what is so captivating about her works is that it works on two levels; it is ‘a combination of intellectual activity and physical activity – it is both’ (Ocula, 2018), I get the sense that you can see and feel all the questions Houshiary asks of herself in this pursuit of capturing essences of breath, existence and being – her want to grasp the intangible – at work.