“All the Flowers Are for Me” by Anila Quayyum Agha Returns to the Cincinnati Art Museum on December 5

Credit: cincinnatiartmuseum.org

Anila Quayyum Agha is best known for her large, laser-cut installations that manipulate light to creative immersive, contemplative environments. Her expansive piece, “All the Flowers Are for Me,” was first shown at the Cincinnati Art Museum in 2017 and awarded the prestigious Schiele Prize. Starting December 5, the artwork will be returning to its original position until February 7, 2021. 

Agha, born in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1965, received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the National College of Arts, Lahore, and her Master of Fine Arts in Fiber Arts from the University of North Texas in 2001. With exhibitions throughout the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and Pakistan, she creates intricate, room-enveloping pieces that speak to her experience as a diaspora artist while simultaneously creating a feeling of inclusivity through shared experience. 

Credit: anilaagha.com

“All the Flowers Are for Me” is no different. Light emanates from the center of a red, five-foot steel cube covering the walls, ceiling and floor of the gallery in geometric and floral patterns. The entire room is transformed, casting intricate shadows that ripple and change as you walk through the space. 

Agha created “All the Flowers Are for Me” following the near-simultaneous death of her mother and the wedding of her son. In her artist statement, Agha explains, “These patterns pay homage to the organic to which death is inevitably linked but from which new life also emerges. The many colored, metallic embroidery threads in these works are often used in women’s wedding dresses in Pakistan but never for shrouds. In stitching these threads into paper, and cutting patterns in steel, I connect the wedding that is believed the beginning of a woman’s life-giving journey, and the funeral that is its ultimate end.”

Credit: cincinnatiartmuseum.org

Dr. Ainsley M. Cameron, Cincinnati Art Museum Curator of South Asian Art, Islamic Art & Antiquities, commented on the popular sculpture’s return. “Now, only four years later, we receive this sculpture in a world that is experiencing a collective grief, as we continue to navigate a global pandemic and radical social change. We hope that the exhibition will provide our visitors a moment of respite and reflection.”

The exhibition is free to the public, though the museum recommends registering online in advance for free tickets. If you’re in the Cincinnati area from December 5 through February 7, stop by the Cincinnati Art Museum to experience the beautiful, transformative world created by Anila Quayyum Agha.