Rana Begum
Textiles and tapestries
As you enter our performance spaces your eyes will be greeted with the tapestries and seat covers created by Rana Begum.
Known for her merging of sculpture, painting and architecture, Rana’s textiles bring a sense of movement across Beacon Hall. Shifting colours and patterns create different rhythms and repetitions through colour and light which shift across the room like a piece of music unfurling.
Rana has collaborated with Bristol-based fabric designers and textile trend consultancy Dash & Miller to assist with translating her work into the design of new fabrics. This collaboration has allowed her to create a bespoke fabric that encompasses a double pattern which shifts and moves depending on your position and perspective in the space much like a lenticular postcard (a technology used to produce printed images with an illusion of depth or movement).
Artworks
Rana Begum, 2022
No 1226 Textile
Location: Lantern Hall
Medium: Wool Jacquard Woven Rib Fabric
No 1218 Textile
Location: Lantern Hall
Medium: Wool Jacquard Woven Moquette Fabric
No 1219 Textile
Location: Beacon Hall
Medium: Wool Jacquard Woven Moquette Fabric
Commissioned by Bristol City Council for Bristol Beacon. Curated and produced by Field Art Projects.
About the artist
Rana Begum
I wanted to develop something that reflects the diversity of sound performed in the halls through rhythms, patterns, and repetition.”
Rana Begum, 2023
Rana’s work focuses on the interplay between light and colour, blurring the boundaries between sculpture, painting and architecture. Her use of repetitive geometric patterns – found both within Islamic art and the industrial cityscape – takes its inspiration from childhood memories of the rhythmic repetition of daily recitals of the Qur’an.
Influenced by the geometric abstraction of minimalism and constructivism and the work of artists such as Agnes Martin, Donald Judd, Jesús Rafael de Soto and Tess Jaray, Rana’s work ranges from drawings, paintings and sculptures to large-scale public art projects.
Light is fundamental to her process. Her works absorb and reflect varied densities of light to produce an experience for the viewer that is both temporal and sensorial.
Dash & Miller
Dash & Miller are an international textile studio working out of Bristol who regularly work with trend agencies, fashion houses, fabric manufacturers, lifestyle brands, editors and contract suppliers to inform and inspire the creation of wonderful fabrics.
Their hand-crafted approach to industrial design combines with their breadth of experience to provide relevant and unique design-work. They were appointed to help Rana translate her designs into the new medium of textiles.
They worked with Gary Fabian Miller on a series of hand-made tapestries for his Cibachrome series shown in the Arnolfini.
Art at the Beacon
Art at the Beacon
Discover our collection, find out about the artists, and experience the artworks yourself on your next visit.
Plan your visit
Plan your visit
Travel information, opening times, food & drink and frequently asked questions about our venues and performance spaces.
What’s on
What’s on
Browse event listings and find out what music, comedy, exhibitions, workshops and more are taking place at Bristol Beacon.