Topi Wallah (5)

Ali Kazim is known for his multilayered works that produce a textural effect reinventing the neo-miniaturist style that has dominated contemporary Pakistani art. Having started his career as a cinema billboard painter in a small town in Pakistan, Kazim uses his technical abilities to paint portraits, mostly of men. He uses pigment and blind printing to develop a sculptural quality that transforms the flatness of his images giving them a three-dimensional quality. In Topi Wallah -- 5 Kazim's use of pigments gently infused into the paper offers a reverent softness, but somehow, as the texture of the paper comes through, the white woven cap seems to float gracefully above the protagonist's head. The profile of this figure, set against the flat white background conveys a sense of silence and solitude. Having exhibited internationally, Kazim's works can be found in the prestigious collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum, Queensland Art Gallery and the Devi Art Foundation, among others.