RASHID RANA (B. 1968)

Partially alluding to an historic cultural divide between 'East' and 'West', Rashid Rana juxtaposes contrasting stereotypes with brilliant alacrity in Offshore Accounts - 2. Fascinated by the mass dissemination of information within a globalized world, the artist's pixilated photographic practice here proffers an alternative reading of nature juxtaposed with culture and waste. Simultaneously exploring the potentialities of 'gestalt' and of more pronounced illusions, Offshore Accounts - 2 optically coalesces to appear as a vista of swelling ocean waves which at first glance offer a contemplative actuality; then pulled to examine the minutiae, as the viewer draws nearer tiny images (pixels) of sailing vessels, reminiscent of a colonialist history of the high seas, become visible and engage a post-colonial dialogue. Rana comments on the neo-colonialism borne of US involvement in Pakistani internal and political affairs.