Lubna Chowdhary subverts the traditional context and utility of her chosen medium – clay – to address a longstanding preoccupation with urbanisation and material culture. Shaped tiles, sculptural objects and spatial installations in ceramic constitute a distinctive oeuvre that bridges the disciplines of architecture, craft, design, sculpture and painting. Chowdhary's work harmonises a range of references, including Islamic architecture, Hindu temples, modernist design. In transcending these many categories, the work thrives on interconnection and establishing relationships between diverse aesthetic traditions.
The Sign series of works combine industrial tile modules with laborious hand-glazing techniques. The smooth, undulating textures of the glazes contrast with precise machine cutting. Chowdhary disrupts the formal grid structure of standard tiles to create a complex geometry. The works evolve from the artist’s numerous public art works and reference the long history of ceramics in architecture. Works alternate between a range of associations including signs, symbols and abstract forms found in our everyday lives.
