Taseer Art Gallery

A far cry from the cool rationality of conceptual art, Unver Shafi’s dreamlike images are full of romance. Urban fairy tales full of mystical beasts and passionate encounters. The beauty of Unver Shafi’s art lies in the tension between the recognizable and the unfamiliar.

Upon first examination the initial effect is purely physical—women and hunting symbolized by beautiful psychedelic beasts with their roots firmly in surrealism. Although many of the images and objects presented may initially appear normal and familiar, vaguely human or animal, upon closer examination these scenes take a turn towards the strange and fantastic. Unver’s explorations go beyond the rational and delve into ideas around desire, fantasy, anxiety and the absurd. Work that skirts round the many edges of reality.