Ta'weez Project No.1 

Ta'weez Project No. 1

An Exhibition of works by Sadia Uqaili, Faisal Mohyuddin and Zafar Malik

 

A unique art exhibition shown initially at Gallery One of the Noyes Arts Cultural Center, 927 Noyes Street, Evanston, Illinois from October 3-20, 2015. This exhibition brought together the works of three Pakistani American artists – Sadia Uqaili, Faisal Mohyuddin and Zafar Malik.

 

Ta'weez is an amulet or locket usually containing verses from the Qur'an or other Islamic prayers and symbols. It was originally meant as a prayer amulet, but, over time, its meaning has taken on more mystical, and more controversial, dimensions; it is now often worn as a good luck charm or as a talisman meant to protect its wearer from the evil eye or other mysterious afflictions. Most interpretations of Islam disapprove of such extra – religious customs. At its core, however, a ta'weez represents an individual believer's personalized sense of faith, belief, and self-expression.

 

Ta'weez Project No.1 embodies a desire to explore, articulate, and celebrate the freedom of self-expression, as well as the freedom to believe and to have the choice to fully express any emotion, belief, or tradition in one's own way. And this exhibit is an attempt by three artists to explore their individual takes on the ubiquitous prevalence and beauty of cultural nuance, the  imperfect  science of  distinguishing facts  from beliefs, and  the  magical chemistry of life.

 

In an effort to maintain a heightened sense of individuality that honors the  spirit of ta'weez,  the artists  kept  their studio practices completely unknown to one other. They did not share any ideas nor interacted during the making of their works beyond the first discussion at the genesis of this idea just over six months before the opening. Only at the time the exhibition was being curated that they shared their work with one another – and with the wider world.

 

For more information, please contact:

• Sadia Uqaili:  (630) 400-2430 I sadiauq@gmail.com

• Faisal Mohyuddin: (847) 346-9445 I f_mohyuddin@yahoo.com

• Zafar Malik:  (847) 644-4450 I zafartalagang@gmail.com