exhibitions & events 2023

Fouzia Zafar

Paths

The paths that delineate Kelvingrove Park in the West End of Glasgow are a key focus for Fouzia Zafar’s current new series of work. Fouzia has always been struck by how many paths were crammed into such a small amount of space on a hill. She has tried to capture some of this in the print 'Winding Down Kelvingrove Park.' The composition invites you to wind up and back down the image, as you would wandering the path.

In this new series of work, Fouzia also explores the temporary paths that are created by human traffic on wheels. These are explored in the larger prints: 'Tracks 1-4', in these prints the marks have been physically made by a variety of wheels “riding” over a wax-coated plate, leaving imprints onto metal. These marks are then transferred onto paper through the etching process.

The serendipitous nature of who skates, cycles or walks over the plates is unpredictable as is the type of mark they leave. Fouzia has enjoyed this playful way of creating images and play has always been a key concept to her practice. Play encompasses repeatedly finding, composing and constructing new tools and processes to explore places and objects and their history, surfaces, and qualities, whilst also constructing new narratives.

Fouzia lives and works in Glasgow. She became a member of Glasgow Print Studio in 2017, when returning to her hometown after spending 15 years in London. She completed her MA in Fine Art with a distinction at the City and Guilds of London Art School in 2013. Upon graduating she received the Gwen May Student Award, from the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, the Curwen Studio Award. She was voted Printmakers Printer at Cumbria Printfest 2015, and was elected as a member of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers in 2018. Fouzia has exhibited across the UK and abroad including the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Academy, London. Her work is held in private collections, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Ashmolean Museum and Kelvingrove Art Gallery. 

Image: Fouzia Zafar, 'Kelvin Way Paths', etching, 2023, 55.5 x 59.5 cm, edition of 30. Fouzia Zafar, 'Kelvin Walkway', monoprint, 2023, 28 x 37.5 cm. Courtesy the Artist and Glasgow Print Studio.