Glass Case Gallery, Central Branch March 21 - June 1, 2025
For over two decades, Tazeen Qayyum has been developing a body of work that centers around the cockroach as a significant motif.
She creates intricate installations and patterns that cover large surfaces, including building facades and interior walls, as well as self-contained sculptures and paintings.
Typically viewed with repulsion and aversion, the cockroach motif in her work serves as a social commentary on how, in today’s world plagued by war and hatred, the value of human life is diminished by discrimination and political intolerance. At the same time, her art conveys everyday stories of resilience and triumph over adversity.
In the Shadows is a site-specific installation that encourages reflection on global crises caused by unjust wars and the traumatic aftermath of fear and destruction. Qayyum’s work reminds us that our survival depends on understanding one another, liberating our identities, overcoming fears, and focusing on the concept of care.
Tazeen Qayyum a Pakistani Canadian, multidisciplinary artist based in Oakville. Trained as a miniature painter of South Asian and Persian traditions, Qayyum continues to explore new materials and processes through drawing, installation, sculpture, video and performance. Drawing from complex issues of belonging and displacement within a socio-political context, her art is a way for her to navigate identity and beliefs living in the diaspora.
Qayyum’s work has been exhibited at the Bangkok Biennale, Thailand; Karachi Biennale, Pakistan; the South Asia Institute, Chicago, USA; the National Gallery of Pakistan; Tokyo Metropolitan Museum, Japan; Museo Diocesano, Milan, Italy; the Royal Ontario Museum and the Textile Museum, Toronto.
Here is a glimpse.
