Raqib Shaw - Manchester Art Gallery

I had been researching which galleries at the moment have indian exhibitions on, and I found that Manchester were exhibiting Raqib Shaw, whose work is encrusted with jewels. It is almost a strange thing to put on a painting, but it adds a depth to it, and draws the viewer in, which it did to me. You can't help but stare in awe as to how breath taking the paintings look, despite the fact that they are in fact quite dark and terrifying with mythical beats and warriors laden within, but they also reflect the ornate style of persian miniatures and Kashmiri and Japanese textiles. Beneath their beautiful jewel - like surface, is a collection of violent images inspired by ancient myths and religious tales from both eastern and western tradition. 

This has got to be my favourite. I did find quite a lot of his work quite depressing and dark, which I didn't think it would have been, not to the extent that it was anyway. This is one that had a pretty element to it, with the flowers and the blue sky. It can almost be seen as being picturesque, and it looks like there are angels with bows and arrows, which there aren't. It looks like a war in paradise, which is very contradicting, as paradise is supposed to be the most beautiful and calmest of places. It's so wrong that it looks right. 

I think that the jewels are not just for embellishment, but they almost guide your eye towards the events that are happening in the painting. In the painting in general, you can see innocence and freedom, and comparing his earlier and later works, the journey is visible, as time has progressed, they have become more tighter, detailed and complex. 

Shaw mentions Hieronymus Bosh as one of his key influences and this can be clearly sensed when we are faced with his art – there is opulence mixed with torture, the richness of technique contrasting with agony. Indeed, technique is one of the most significant elements of this work. Shaw uses metallic and enamel paints, manipulating them with a porcupine quill and later embellishing them with feathers and flowers. Each part is outlined in embossed gold, further adding to the splendour of his end results.