Tazeen Qayyum
Tazeen Qayyum is a Pakistani-born Canadian conceptual artist working in a variety of media including miniature painting, drawing, sculpture, performance, and video. Her work explores issues of identity, immigration, socio-political conflict, and her Muslim identity.
Biography
Born in Karachi, Pakistan, in 1973, Tazeen Qayyum studied miniature painting at the National College of Arts in Lahore, Pakistan, graduating in 1996 with a BFA.As a response to the 9/11 attacks, Qayyum began using the cockroach as a metaphor to connote the loss of life in the subsequent wars connected to the attacks, as well as fear and misunderstanding of other cultures. While the cockroach first appeared as part of her miniature painting practice, it would evolve into sculpture and installation work including A Holding Pattern, a multi-media piece that was installed at Toronto's Pearson International Airport in 2013.
Qayyum's more recent circular text pieces are performative based and originate from her work with installations of the repeated forms of cockroaches. Recurring singular phrases written in the Urdu are drawn from the centre of the paper or canvas, concentrically moving out. These performances have been as long as twenty-four hours in duration. These drawing performances often result in joint pain.
Along with her artistic practice, Qayyum has offered workshops in miniature painting. She co-founded Offset Portfolio Centre in 1997, a gallery and resource centre for artists in Pakistan.