In 2011, for Gazelli Art House Saad produced a monumental 9m long sculpture of a partially destroyed minaret. The piece lay prone along the main room of the exhibition space and provided a dramatic and poignant starting point for visitors to the gallery. The minaret became a frequent frame of reference in Saad’s work, exploring the iconography inherent in the structure seen as the ‘stitch between heaven and earth’ in Islamic tradition.
Quicken is inspired by a new image Qureshi saw of the bomb site where a minaret adjacent to a local mosque collapsed in one piece.
The symbol of holiness, religious beliefs and cultural, social and geographical upbringing is challenged at the first sight by the appearance of a disintegrated minaret. Yet, at closer inspection, one begins to realise the intention of the artist to place raised questions on a platform - engaging the audience on a personal level and opening a discourse around the subject matter.
In Qureshi’s oeuvre, notions of ‘belonging’ and the ‘other’ are often challenged, given the social influences on the conscience, developed outlook of the artist having Pakistani roots on one hand and being born and raised in England on the other.