Details

Object type

painting

Title

House for the Holy

Artist/Maker

Rabiya Choudhry artist

Place Associated

Scotland, Edinburgh (place made)

Date

2016

Materials

acrylic on canvas

Dimensions

overall: 1000 mm x 1000 mm

Description

This vibrant painting has Choudhry’s signature style of strong graphic painting with block of – in this case bright and bold – colour. She has a diverse range influences on her style such psychedelic art, comic book art, album cover art, song lyrics, voodoo and folk art, b-movie film posters and cartoons.

The square painting is an abstract portrait depicting a person form the shoulders up, but their head is a brick house. The background is vibrant pink while the house – the head and shoulders - is made of red rectangles to represent bricks. This brick house could be seen to represent the family home, in this case the reference to ‘Wimpy’ (Wimpey Homes) suggests a certain class structure in the UK. The bricks can obviously represent the literal shutting in, or out, of emotions or connections. The teeth of the mouth are made up of sharp white triangles that are also Klu Klux Klan member with their hats and black eye forming rotten teeth. Choudhry says that is “a reminder that hate speech can begin close to home”. Choudhry explores difficult themes such as suicide, depression, racism, joy, loss, love and hurt. She sees her work as “joyous, demented expressions of these themes, mirroring the worlds we experience both outside and within.”

Choudhry often creates a narrative that forms the basis of her paintings, but this narrative may not be given to the viewer, for example in this case she imagined the mouth singing the REM song ‘It’s the end of the world as we know it”.

In 2019 Choudhry described the painting as such:

“This is a painting of a lonely house, whose story is yet to unfold or be revealed. It doesn't show its feeling so much, its anxieties lie out with its internal world and it retreats into its faith in a higher power. The house is based on a Wimpy (Wimpey) house which is a particular UK brand of red brick houses. The teeth are Klu Klux Klan members that have black decaying holes for eyes forming rotten teeth, as a reminder that hate speech can begin close to home.

Our words can cause the most damage. It is hard to let go and to keep the communication lines open when it feels like everything is falling apart. The teeth sing the REM song ‘ it's the end of the world as we know it’’ through the mouth of the holy phone which sings ‘ but I feel fine’ The phone however, is disconnected.

Both this painting and Dream Baby Dream are loosely based on my family.”

House for the Holy was acquired through the Contemporary Art Society’s Rapid Response Fund in 2019 which was set up as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Three works were acquired, two paintings and a neon work. Although these works were created pre Covid-19 these particular works were selected as they can open up conversations through the lens of the pandemic. For example, both paintings use a family home, internal and external, to discuss multiple issues such as family dynamics, isolation or mental health. During the pandemic the UK was subjected to a lockdown where people couldn’t leave their homes, the impact of which may be felt for years to come.

Credit Line/Donor

Presented by the Contemporary Art Society through the Rapid Response Fund, 2020

ID Number

3782

Location

Gallery of Modern Art Gallery 4