hamra abbas

At the heart of The Making of English Portraits (2006) are three meticulously executed portraits, which move back and forth across the screen, continuously splitting, and then reforming, in a rhythmic pendulum-like motion. Abbas’ residency at the V&A museum exposed her to the richness of colonial collecting. Alongside her appreciation of the aesthetics of these objects, particularly her keen eye for strong patterns, it is the nature of interaction and engagement with museum collecting that concerns her. Divia Patel