The Influence of Islamic Culture in Art

The term ‘Islamic Art’ refers to any art produced in the Islamic world. Unlike Christian Art, Islamic Art is not restricted to religious works, and can include all the artistic traditions of Muslim culture. Of course, this is pretty wide-ranging, given the geographical spread and multiple art styles found in majority Muslim countries. But instead of looking at Islamic Art as a whole, we want to focus on two contemporary artists who may not describe themselves as within the Islamic Art style, but who are undeniably influenced by Islam in their art practice. 

Looking first at British artist, Zarah Hussain, her practice is a visual examination of how spirituality, technology, and art connect. Hussain earned her MA in Islamic Art from the Prince’s School in London, and in her work she integrates the pattern-making abilities of conventional mathematics with modern art across a variety of genres, including animation, sculpture, and painting. Hussain has established a creative language that reflects both the aesthetic traditions of traditional Islamic design and modern Western society. 

Hussain combines mathematical art references such as geometric structures and tessellating patterns with inspiration from the work of 20th-century artists such as Victor Vasarely, Josef Albers, Mark Rothko, Agnes Martin, and Bridget Riley. 

‘I have always been interested in Islamic Pattern, since I was a child I found the colours and patterns in tiles, textiles and wall ornamentation fascinating. As an adult I was given the opportunity to do an MA in Islamic Art and I spent two years studying and specialising in Islamic Geometry. My work today spans many different forms, but the core essence of the work is rooted in the sacred tradition of Islamic Art.’ 

Hussain has exhibited across Europe, the USA and the MENASA region, including at the William Morris Gallery, London; the Barbican Centre, London, the Sharjah Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. Her work is held in many national and international collections and she was awarded the Lumen Prize (People’s Choice) in 2017. 

Also London-based, artist Faiza Butt takes a very different approach to the subject of Islam in her artwork. She is not looking to celebrate the aesthetics of religion but is instead aiming to pick out bits of her cultural heritage (she was born and raised in Pakistan) that feel universal.

‘I don’t believe in being unnecessarily provocative but I think in the domain of art one advantage we have is we can talk about anything, within reason. I think good art should provoke. If somebody stands in front of an artwork and doesn’t give it a second and walks off; if it didn’t arrest that person - to me that artwork has failed.’ 

Butt’s artwork is definitely arresting. Her images use bold colours and have an almost pop-art style, with the inclusion of everyday objects such as hairdryers and ice-creams, alongside images of bearded Muslim men. The works cleverly focus on men to tell truths about feminism. She takes images of men from three traditionally masculine spheres - politics, sport, and crime - and uses these to comment on men’s status in society and the effects of their ambitions. 

Her artwork also incorporates a lot of popular culture. She draws on the cinema posters she saw growing up in Pakistan:

‘I was raised in the 80s in Pakistan so growing up I saw a lot of changes, and one of the changes I saw was the cinema. In the 80s this was a very important propaganda source for Islam. The hero in the movies - Punjabi movies especially - became very militant. He was armed. He was bearded. He was very masculine. So I did these works using the bloodied faces of the heroes. Because when I was young the billboards in Pakistan were hand painted and they were large and they would mainly show the snapshots of the action - of the particular propaganda movie and the man covered in blood, crying like a warrior and his sense of purpose is violence and this violence is very sacred. And people were absorbing those images so violence in the name of religion became sacred in the 80s. 

My work had another side to it as well which was: Why do we associate so much to a man with a beard? What instantly comes to mind? So I addressed some works to that because I started to see that during the London attacks, the images of the Muslims were framed in such a way - whether they were innocent or guilty - the mugshot says guilt.’

Looking at Butt’s artwork is to delve into a story. You might not know all of the characters, but you understand the plot. Butt says of her artistic practice:

‘I just don’t have the ego to create a work that will make people feel like they don’t understand art. I want my work to instantly speak a visual language and have a popular appeal. So when I make work, I don’t have a linear narrative, there are many narratives at work. But there is some impetus, some excitement that makes me start a piece. It’s normally something with a social purpose because I believe artists should be social commentators. That is why perhaps we should practise at all.’

We agree. Art should say something. It should have a purpose. And whether that purpose is examining the space between spirituality and tech, or whether it is speaking truths about feminism in a patriarchal society, it is entirely necessary. 

Thank you to both Zarah Hussain and Faiza Butt for sharing their work with us. And Eid Mubarak to all our Muslim community and readers.