The sculpture Red Stack by Emirati artist Shaikha Al Mazrou is a masterful illusion of contrasts and is on display as part of Frieze Sculpture 2022 at Regent’s Park in London.
The form and volume of cushions have been explored and examined after being enlarged and magnified. They look both soft and rigid when stacked together. Although the stack is firmly planted, it appears as though the cushions are about to fall off one another.
Al Mazrou, one of 19 international artists exhibiting work as part of this year’s Frieze Sculpture, is represented by Lawrie Shabibi gallery on Alserkal Avenue. The festival, now in its ninth straight year, runs until November 13 in addition to Frieze London and Frieze Masters, both of which begin on October 12.
As a result, Red Stack receives a lot of exposure. Al Mazrou not only takes this into account in her work, but she also welcomes the opportunity for the public to examine and engage with the sculpture.
“The audience for a public sculpture is eclectic and different, so you also need to comprehend the vocabulary of the general public. A strong red flattens the stack while emphasizing its shape and the frailty of the cushions’ implied mobility,” she explains. “In contrast to Regent’s Park’s lush vegetation, the color emphasizes the sculpture’s physicality and silhouette even more.”
She uses the utilization of material to delve deeper into the concept of tension and balance with Red Stack. but also by using color and our own boring standards.
Red Stack’s subject matter and presentation are simple, plain, and almost matter-of-fact, giving the impression that the production would have gone just as well. According to Al Mazrou, this is not the case. A piece like Red Stack requires an almost intimate understanding of the subject matter to function as well as it does.
Al Mazrou spent a lot of time investigating and comprehending the potential of each and every medium she employs in her work, making choices about how the method and characteristics of the material — whether resin, metal, casting, or clay — can affect the sculpture’s final form and how the general public will view it.