drawing
- Museum number
- 2009,6004.1
- Title
- Object: Unravelling, from the series Chemical Hysterical
- Description
-
Charcoal figure on paper
- Production date
- 2006
- Dimensions
-
Height: 123 centimetres (mounted)
-
Height: 111.70 centimetres
-
Width: 87 centimetres (mounted)
-
Width: 76 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- The features of the woman in the drawing have much in common with Persian miniatures. This appearance, however, is complicated by the presence of other faces, smaller versions of the central figure, that emerge Janus-like in different directions around her head. Words from songs by the legendary Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum (1904?–1975) are woven into the pattern of her skirt; these include Fakruni (They reminded me of you) and Hajartik (I left you) in bold black. Behind her head, words in Persian are taken from a seventeenth-century illustrated medical manuscript, labelling body parts. The mixing of Arabic and Persian reflects Abbasy’s upbringing in Ahvaz, a region in Iran with a strong Arab tradition. (Porter et al Reflections, p. 138)
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
-
Exhibited:
Seoul Arts Centre, 'Human Image' (2015 - 2016, Dec - Mar)
British Museum, Room 90, Reflections contemporary art of the Middle East and North Africa until 15th August 2021.
- Acquisition date
- 2009
- Department
- Middle East
- Registration number
- 2009,6004.1
