Intersections Installation by Anila Quayyum Agha

Pakistani-American artist Anila Quayyum Agha uses light and cast shadow to transform Rice Gallery into a place that alludes to Islamic sacred spaces dense with geometric ornamentation and pattern. Agha translated the contradictory feelings into her installation, Intersections, by creating a contemplative space of her own making that is open to all. She used simple means to dramatic effect: a single, bright light suspended from the ceiling shines through an intricately laser-cut box made from wood and painted black. Each side of this cube is the same, repeating a symmetrical pattern Agha designed by combining and adapting different decorative elements she saw at the Alhambra. The geometric shapes and lines become shadows that cover the gallery walls, floor, and ceiling, and even gallery visitors. Within Intersections, no clear boundary or separation exists; our moving bodies change the nature of the pattern as we walk freely through its dense silhouette.