Huile sur toile, 2022
In Ficus Elastica 3, Shaan Syed’s process begins with an undercoat of thick blue oil paint dragged across the canvas. Working on a subsequent wet layer of white, he then uses a blotting technique consisting of drawing through thin sheets of paper. When the paper is removed, a thin blue line where he has drawn is revealed. The rubber plant, or Ficus elastica, is rooted in a history of colonial botany; originating in Southeast Asia, the plant eventually reached the West Indies, South America, and other pan-tropical regions in tandem with trade routes established by British and European empires. Syed has spoken about how the plant’s history is “hidden in plain sight,” as it has become a decorative fixture in Western homes and commercial spaces.
Shaan Syed’s approach to painting is one of decoding and recontextualizing visual signs and references drawn from European and American postmodern painting, married with those of his own background. Often drawing comparisons and similarities across histories, with particular attention to Islamic architecture, craft, and ornament, Syed explores traditions and contemporary preoccupations that have historically been considered part of vastly different worlds.
Syed holds an MFA from Goldsmiths College and a diploma in fine arts from the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto (2000). His work has been shown widely and is included in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa), the Doris McCarthy Collection (Toronto), the Collection Majudia, the Royal Bank of Canada, TD Canada Trust, and Scotia Bank, among others.