“Geometry of Light” at SAAM

 

11/21/25 "This is Not a Refuge!" by Anila Quayyum Agha, Seattle Asian Art Museum

When I first saw images of a new exhibit at Seattle Asian Art Museum, I knew it would be fun and challenging to approach the work using white on black. Anila Quayyum Agha’s Geometry of Light is a dazzling installation of laser-cut, resin-coated aluminum. “Suspended from the ceiling, Agha’s steel cubes are laser-cut with intricate designs that project geometric shadows onto the visitor. She draws on both the light and dark of her own life, using South Asian art practices to convey the gender discrimination she faced growing up as a young girl in Pakistan.”

One of several laser-cut paper pieces

In addition to two installations, the exhibit includes several wall-mounted paper art pieces with a similar intricacy and delicacy. Including embroidery thread and beads, the pieces are inspired by traditional Islamic art. The patterns are sometimes called “’feminine’ or ‘decorative,’” the placard said, “but she challenges the idea that this kind of art is less important. Instead, she turns it into something powerful and meaningful, filled with emotion and history.”

Those pieces and her artistic intentions moved me as a former fiber artist. At the time, fellow fiber artists and I often discussed the patronizing attitude our culture has toward the use of fiber, beads and other materials traditionally associated with “women’s crafts.”

I chose the piece called “This is Not a Refuge!” to sketch. To enhance the illumination effects, the exhibit rooms are darkened, so it wasn’t easy to see, yet it was actually easier than drawing dark on white paper (which I’ve also tried to do in other dark exhibits). A white colored pencil on black paper was an ideal way to capture the light.

A second installation piece of laser-cut aluminum