Open Day for upcoming solo exhibition Rebellious Belly by Sydney-based, Pakistani-born multidisciplinary artist, Abdullah M. I. Syed will be held at Penrith Regional Gallery, Home of The Lewers Bequest on Saturday 3 June from 10am – 4pm. This is an opportunity to connect with the artist and hear more about the exhibition through free activities, talks and performances.
There will be a special performance by Abdullah M.I. Syed entitled ’99:49’ at 1:30pm in the Main Gallery. There will also be a live dance and drumming performance from BINDI BOSSES at 1:15pm in the garden. BINDI BOSSES is a self-funded South Asian Fusion Arts company that seamlessly blends Traditional Indian Classical and Folk dances with influences from South Asian Cinema and Street dances from around the world.
Marking his first major presentation in Western Sydney, Rebellious Belly is a milestone in Syed’s career that has spanned more than three decades and across continents. Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Syed studied and taught art and design in the United States, Pakistan, and Australia. He lived with his family in Mount Druitt and now works between Australia and Pakistan.
This will be his largest solo exhibition which includes works that are over 20 years old, like the beautiful and compelling ‘floating’ installation Discourse within Discourse: The Circle (2003), a sensory and contemplative piece made of small parcels filled with spices suspended by gold thread.
Also on display are pieces from his Currency of Love (2016) series, where he used dead ‘money plant’ (Epipremnum) leaves, new and old banknotes and 24k gold to repair the leaves with a nod to the centuries old Japanese art of Kintsugi.
Rebellious Belly underlines Syed’s interest in consumption, both literal and symbolic. What we consume—what fills our bellies—also evolves into how the latter consumes us, what defines us and what we thus become. He explores the visual landscape and divergent modes of thought across contemporary Western and Eastern cultures grounding them through his personal, lived experience.
Open Day activities include:
Drop In Artmaking for All Ages
Main Gallery, Loungeroom Gallery and Lewers House | 10am – 2pm
Drop In Henna Art with Official BINDI BOSSES’ Henna Artist Nubaisha Zia
Café Lawn | 10am – 11.30am & 1.15pm – 2.15pm
Curator Floor Talk: Rebellious Bellywith Toby Chapman, Director, Visual Arts
Main Gallery | 11.30am – 12.15pm
Performance: BINDI BOSSES
Café Lawn | 1pm – 1.15pm
Performance: Abdullah M. I. Syed 99:49
Main Gallery | 1.30pm – 1.50pm
Abdullah M. I. Syed: Rebellious Belly Opening
Main Gallery | 2pm – 4pm
Official opening by Matt Cox, Curator of Asian Art, Art Gallery of NSW, with opening remarks by Toby Chapman, Director, Visual Arts, Penrith Performing & Visual Arts
June Open Day is FREE and on at Penrith Regional Gallery, Home of The Lewers Bequest on Saturday 3 June from 10am – 4pm –https://www.penrithregionalgallery.com.au/events/june-open-day/
Some free activities on June Open Day require bookings. Please check our website for more details.
Abdullah M.I. Syed: Rebellious Belly is FREE and on at Penrith Regional Gallery, Home of The Lewers Bequest from 3 June — 20 August 2023 – https://www.penrithregionalgallery.com.au/events/rebellious-belly/
