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Drawing on the rich visual languages of Islamic art, Japanese motifs and collage to dissect the illusion of landscape as a ‘neutral’ space
This intricately cut and layered photographic collage brings together two different images to interrogate how landscapes can be contested sites of memory and identity. Drawing on the rich visual languages of Islamic art and Japanese motifs, Nadeem dissects the illusion of landscape as a ‘neutral’ space, meticulously grafting together fragments of imagery to destabilise and reconstruct familiar scenes.
This work featured in Autograph's 2001 exhibition Landscape Trauma in the Age of Scopophilia, curated by Richard Hylton and held at Southwark Park Galleries’ Dilston Gallery. Describing Nadeem's work in the exhibition catalogue, Hylton states: "To take on board the coherent whole means seeing the fractured surface; viewing the fractured surface means we cannot see the whole. This continual shifting of focus becomes a metaphor for the presence of another view and, by implication, perhaps a different view."
Henna Nadeem (b. 1966, Leeds) is a visual artist known for her intricate photographic collages and large-scale public installations. Combining geometric and organic patterns with images of urban and rural landscapes, her work draws from diverse historical and cultural influences, including Islamic art and Japanese motifs. She repurposes imagery from tourist guides, magazines, and mass media to create layered compositions.
Nadeem earned her BFA from John Moores University (Liverpool) in 1989 and her MFA from the Royal College of Art (London) in 1993. Her work has been exhibited at institutions such as Norwich Castle Museum & Gallery (UK), South London Gallery (UK), ICA (UK), Tate Britain (UK), and Koldo Mitxelena Kulturunea (Spain). In 2004, her work was installed at Piccadilly Circus Underground Station.
She has completed residencies at Camden Art Centre (UK) and Artspace (Australia) and was commissioned by Photoworks in 2006. Her work is held in major collections including Autograph (UK), the British Council (UK), the Government Art Collection (UK) and the V&A (UK). Nadeem lives and works in London.
This collage is in Autograph's permanent collection of photography, where it has been conserved and digitised
Autograph featured this work in the 2001 exhibition Landscape Trauma in the Age of Scopophilia, curated by Richard Hylton and it is part of the current group show I Still Dream of Lost Vocabularies
10 Oct 2025 – 21 Mar 2026
A free exhibition examining political dissent and erasure through the idea of collage
Banner image: Henna Nadeem, California, 2000 from the series Between Trees. © and courtesy the artist.
Exhibition image: Sabrina Tirvengadum and Mark Allred, Family [detail], 2023.
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