Shezad Dawood

Dawood’s suite of paintings, Labanof Cycle, are based on research with the Laboratory of Anthropological Forensics (Labanof) at the University of Milan – an institute that conducts research on personal effects lost by migrants during sea crossings to Lampedusa, in order to help families identify missing relatives. A series of artefacts and objects from the Labanof archive provide the visual references for the textile works. These were developed in dialogue with the renowned textile manufacturer Fortuny, and incorporate their handmade fabrics. These works are a poignant reminder of the ongoing migrant crisis that continues to develop throughout the world – most recently with the war in Sudan.

The film and textile pieces create this symbiotic relationship to the crisis in terms of the climate emergency and migration. The humanitarian echoes the wider ecological crisis through the loss of species throughout the world. Migration is exacerbated through climate events and the collapse of crops, from monoculture farming to the resource-rich countries that are subject to wars both external and internal. The capitalist pursuit of extraction and greed drive these interconnected crises we are faced with continually; at which point does it turn? Dawood interweaves these narratives from disparate regions to create an awareness and a means to have a more holistic view of how the future might be shaped.

Shezad Dawood is a multidisciplinary artist who interweaves stories, realities and symbolism to create richly layered artworks, spanning painting, textiles, sculpture, film and digital media. Fascinated by ecologies and architecture, his work takes a philosophical approach, asking questions and exploring alternative futures through what Dawood describes as ‘world-building’ and ‘imagineering’. His practice is animated by research, working with multiple audiences and communities to delve into narrative, history and embodiment.

His fascination with the esoteric, otherness, the environment and architectures both material and virtual, can be seen across numerous projects, most recently at Night in the Garden of Love: Inspired by & featuring Yusef Lateef; WIELS, Brussels (2023); Sea of Redemption, Shezad Dawood x Zien; Integrations, Barakat Contemporary, Seoul (2023); HMS Alice Liddell, St Pancras Wires commission, London (2022) and previously at institutions as varied as Tate Britain, MoMA, MOCA Toronto and the MORI Art Museum, Tokyo. His film works have been screened internationally, including at the ICA, London; MoMA and Guggenheim, New York.