Amin Rehman: A is for...
March 1 to April 14, 2012

Originally from Lahore, Toronto-based artist Amin Rehman explores neo-colonialism and the way in which language is used to further political and militaristic goals.

Alternating between the traditional medium of encaustic and digitally-generated vinyl and neon signs, Rehman uses short, quixotic texts to evoke both current global realities and his own experience living in Pakistan and Canada. He often quotes more than one source in the same work. Cultural meaning is further embedded within the layers of typographically distinctive fonts. The resulting works underline the nuance and intransigence of conflicting ideological positions.

With an ironic approach to neo-colonialism, Rehman offers a trenchant commentary on the economic disparities and inflammatory ideological statements global capitalism provokes internationally.

Rehman takes aim specifically at the complex absurdities of the fraught relationship between the United States, Afghanistan and Pakistan. His satirical works, emblazoned with statements devoted to political change often through violent means, were recently exhibited in Islamabad and Lahore. Amin Rehman: A is for... includes 46 new works that challenge the viewer to decipher fragmentary text enmeshed within the lamentable histories of imperial power.

The forthcoming exhibition catalogue includes an interview with artist Jamelie Hassan, and essays by exhibition curator James Patten and the internationally acclaimed British Pakistani writer and activist Tariq Ali. The opening reception on March 23rd at 8:00 P.M. is organized in collaboration with the concurrent Islam and Democracy conference at Western University. For more information, contact James Patten at jpatten2@uwo.ca or call (519) 661-2111 ext. 84602.

McIntosh Gallery
Western University
London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 3K7
www.mcintoshgallery.ca