Rana Begum
No. 1104 Catching Colour, 2022
No. 1104 Catching Colour is a site-specific outdoor installation created by Rana Begum for Botanic Square. This dramatic work, featuring clouds of suspended coloured mesh, is simultaneously light and monumental, appearing to float above the central pathway. Soft layers create a mesmerising interplay of light and form, which are echoed by their shadows on the ground below. Inspired by the reflections of light on water close by, Begum’s work is a fitting response to the natural environment of London City Island and the River Lea that winds around it.
Curated by The Line, No. 1104 Catching Colour is a commission by EcoWorld Ballymore.
Courtesy of Begum Studio and Kate MacGarry Gallery.
Photography by Angus Mill, courtesy of The Line.
Supported by
Biography
Rana Begum (b.1977, Bangladesh) studied painting at Chelsea College of Art and Design (1999) and Slade School of Fine Art (2002). Blurring the boundaries between sculpture, painting and architecture, she uses the language of Minimalist abstraction to distil spatial and visual experience into ordered form. Light is a critical element in her process as works absorb and reflect varied densities of light to produce an experience for the viewer that is both temporal and sensorial.
Begum has exhibited widely in the UK and abroad with recent solo shows at Tate St Ives (2018), Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich (2017) and Parasol Unit, London (2016). She has completed several public and private commissions including Frieze Sculpture (2018), Westgate Oxford (2017) and Kings Cross (2016) and in 2020 she was elected a Royal Academician. She lives and works in London.
WATCH: How to get to No. 1104 Catching Colour by Rana Begum on London City Island
Documentary: Rana Begum No. 1104 Catching Colour (subtitled)
Full performance: Rana Begum No.1104 Catching Colour collaboration with English National Ballet and ROKSANDA
