Basir Mahmood

Biography

Weaving his insights and investigations together into poetic sequences and various forms of narratives, Basir Mahmood's works focus on particular gestures or situations to bring out their essence.

His 2010 video My Father, for example, shows an old man’s hands in close-up as he tries in vain to thread a needle, a poignant portrait that touches on mortality. In 2009, Gheera Chaasma– a short film that Mahmood wrote, directed and produced–was nominated at the Zabist Film Festival in Karachi.

His practice began with a year-long fellowship at the Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart (2011). Later, he went on to participate in artist residencies in five different countries, including, and most notably, at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam (2016-2017).

His work has been widely exhibited, including at Rencontres Internationales, Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Asia Pacific Triennial, Brisbane; Melancholy in Progress, Hong-Gah Museum, Taiwan; Moscow International Biennale for Young Art; and the inaugural show at the Broad Museum, Michigan State University, USA.

His grants and awards include Stipendium for Established Artists, Mondriaan Fonds, the Netherlands (2018-2022); Sharjah Art Foundation Production Programme Grant (2016); Ammodo Tiger Short Award, Film Festival Rotterdam (2021); Paulo Cunha e Silva Art Prize, Portugal (2020); VISIO Young Talent Acquisition Prize, Italy (2017); Emerging Artist Award SAI Harvard University, USA (2015); and Sesc_Videobrasil residency prize, Brazil (2013).

His works have been acquired by the Queensland Art Gallery collection in Brisbane; The Centre national des arts plastiques (National Centre for Visual Arts, Cnap), France; M HKA – Museum of Contemporary Art, Antwerp; FRAC (Fonds régional d'art contemporain) Bretagne, France and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.

SAF participation:
Sharjah Biennial 11