
About Saad Qureshi: Something About Paradise
British artist Saad Qureshi explores what paradise means in a contemporary context in his first solo museum exhibition, Something About Paradise.
In the nave of YSP’s 18th-century Chapel, three monumental organic forms rise from the ground, spread with landscapes, buildings and mysterious structures. A closer viewing reveals an eclectic mix of architectural styles, from traditional temples and churches to modernist houses and palaces, nestled among panoramas of forests, deserts and fantastical geological formations.
Qureshi is an avid gatherer of stories. In developing Something About Paradise he travelled around the country asking those with and without faith what paradise means for them. Speaking directly to people allowed the artist space to interpret the descriptions of indistinct and imagined places, as seen in memories and dreams, into physical installations that he refers to as ‘mindscapes’.
Standing against the Chapel walls are seven ornate, hand-cut and painted wooden gates referencing both the gates of paradise or the seven heavens that are common to many religions. By combining the earthly and spiritual in the meditative setting of the Chapel, Qureshi invites audiences to reflect on common ground in today’s frequently polarised society and opens up possibilities for a profound and hopeful dialogue between people.
‘Paradise is a very personal place. Over the course of my life, it’s a word that has kept recurring in a variety of guises. I was born into a religious household, where the Quranic allegories of the seven heavens formed part of the backdrop to family life. As I grew up and my experiences broadened, I realised that the paradise that others spoke of was often radically different from mine, yet never too far from our consciousness.’ - Saad Qureshi
You may also like
- Profile
Saad Qureshi
- Art Outdoors
David Nash: Black Mound
Black Mound was made for the YSP landscape by David Nash in 2013. Once in place, he charred the oak forms through a carefully controlled burning process that relates to his interest in the four elements. - Art Outdoors
Ro Robertson: Stone (Butch)
Robertson’s Stone (Butch) (2021) is part of a body of works exploring the terrain of the queer body in the landscape and was created by plaster casting directly in crevices in natural rock formations at Godrevy Point (St Ives Bay, Cornwall). - Art Outdoors
Barry Flanagan: Large Nijinski on Anvil Point
Large Nijinski on Anvil Point by Barry Flanagan has returned to YSP – the sculpture was last on display here in 2009.