A B O U T T H E A R T I S T
Liaqat Rasul (1974) is a gay dyslexic Welsh Pakistani man based in London. Rasul studied fashion, gaining a first-class degree including a year in industry, working and studying in New Delhi, India. Upon graduating, the iconic London emporium Liberty on Regent Street bought his graduating collection, and Rasul spent the following ten years running a women’s fashion label before diversifying into 2D and 3D collage and sculpture.
Rasul’s collage works are mental health stories, a visual thought process inspired by multiculturality. They are inspired by concept of people watching, the tough challenges of mental health, and embracing the positives that come with vulnerability – the openness that makes us kind and considerate. His collages have a cartographic stance on initial viewing; layered together with old envelopes, stamped tickets, wooden coffee stirrers, misplaced printing on cardboard boxes, leftover yarn, swing tags, an old t-shirt chopped up, found worn papers and packaging, and marked with biros and felt-tip pens, stuck with PVA glue, sellotaped onto card inserts and graphics on cardboard boxes left out in the street. Their bold, unexpected colours and real-world experiences create unique, buoyant collage tableaux.
“Making art is an act of hope. We are all perched in a multicultural landscape of peoples, religions, and ideas. Think tactile. Think analogue. Embrace your support network; we all need each other.”
