08 Dec 2023
Deborah Heath meets visual artist Rana Begum ahead of the launch of her new exhibition…
Yesterda, St Albans Museum + Gallery saw the opening of Ordered Form, an exhibition by the internationally renowned Bangladeshi-born artist Rana Begum, who grew up in St Albans from the age of eight.
Rana, whose mixed media work explores the links between painting, sculpture, architecture and furniture design, was elected to become a Royal Academician in 2019.
Rana’s pathway to being an artist began in 1985 when she and her family emigrated from a small Bangladeshi village to join her father in St Albans. There was so much to get used to and the first thing she noticed was the change in light.
“There was snow up to the knees. I remember standing at the top of the steps on the plane and looking out and everything was white.
“It was an incredibly bright sunny day, and it was amazing – I’d never seen snow before!”
When Rana enrolled at what is now known as Bernard’s Heath school, she was unable to speak a word of English. She was given paper and colouring pencils by her teacher, Alison Smith, in an attempt to keep her engaged. Little did they know that it would become much more than a way to keep a young girl busy.
Rana explains: “I had no idea that I could actually draw or paint, but I had to do something because otherwise I just would have just fallen asleep! I drew my family and a lot of things from Bangladesh, and it became a way of learning new words and communicating with my peers and teachers.”
These early pictures were significant, not just because they helped Rana to learn English but because so many of them ended up on school displays. This gave her a confidence boost which was so helpful at a time when she and her family faced many challenges as immigrants.
“I used to be scared to go out of the house. We were taunted daily and even had our front door broken down! But I also had incredibly positive support at this time, and I owe a lot to the teachers I have had in my life from primary to University who could see the potential that I had no idea I had. We have tracked down one of these teachers, Alison Smith, and I hope she will be coming to my launch event.”
Rana went on to study at St Albans Girls School where art teachers Mrs Morley and Mrs Insley recognised Rana’s potential and gave her extra work to do at home. When the time came to choose her next steps, they went to Rana’s home to convince her parents to let her study an Art Foundation course at the University of Hertfordshire. This was a happy time for Rana, and it opened up her mind to the range of media that an artist has at their disposal.
“I got an award there which really helped convince my parents that I was dedicated to the discipline. My uncle then persuaded my parents to let me do a degree which was a big deal financially. When I was receiving arranged marriage proposals I used to hear from the other side of the door “No, she’s not going to be in the kitchen and learn to cook – she wants to be an artist.”
Rana went on to Chelsea School of Art which had sculpture, painting and media in the same building.
“It was really inspiring and you could interact with people from other disciplines,” she explains. No doubt this was integral to her development as an artist whose works celebrate a range of media and approaches. An added challenge to Rana was that her parents insisted on her living at home and commuting to college.
“It was exhausting but I knew that I if I put a foot wrong it would be taken away from me,” says Rana.
“So it made me work even harder. My parents got really worried because at the end of the day I would fall asleep on the train and kept ending up in Luton. So in the end they agreed that I could live with an aunt in London!”
Rana applied for a Masters at Slade School of Art without telling her parents. “I didn’t want to get married, I wanted to carry on.”
Rana cites many tutors at her three colleges who particularly inspired her including Gary Woodley. These experiences and teachers really helped Rana’s artistic journey.
I asked what we can expect from the Ordered Form exhibition.
“The body of work I am showing ranges over a few years, and I wanted to find a way to show the direction my work went in.
“Movement is embodied in the work. I have always had difficulty with focus, and I wanted something that would not necessarily hold my attention for a long time but would bring me back. I wanted the work to embody change in some way as you move around the space. A lot of the work is formal as well. I collaborate a lot with architects, designers and musicians and I feel like that really opens up possibilities with my work. I like to work with curators too because the way they install a piece of work can be different to what you initially imagine.”
Work No. 480 is important to Rana: “This is when I got really excited about colour interaction. Seeing this early work in the same space as No. 1280, which I made recently and explores the same thing, made me think about how the focus came about – the material I used and the way I processed the work. I’m proud of the show in its entirety and of the conversations the works are having with each other, but the exciting part is when a show demonstrates the possibilities of where my work could go. No. 1281 Mesh is a new work and I’m really excited about the direction it will take me in.”
Rana has had a busy year and has numerous projects coming up including one in New York and Savannah. She has just completed a commission for Bristol Beacon which is the first time she has used textiles in her work.
She is so inspiring to talk to and I asked her for a piece of advice to offer aspiring young artists.
“I would think hard about what you enjoy doing because you spend a long time working and you need to be able to enjoy doing that. If you have a passion and desire to do something I would invest some time and effort into that and see where it takes you.”
Rana is happy to have her exhibition in St Albans and despite the racial challenges she encountered says: “I loved growing up there. Being in St Albans for the exhibition has brought back some really positive memories of places I worked for and friends I had. I remember a trip to St Albans Cathedral which was where I discovered my love of architecture. I loved how light entered that space – I’d never seen anything like it before.
“I have a lot of fond memories of St Albans and I feel that going back and doing the show here is a way of acknowledging the importance of the place to me. I wouldn’t be where I am without those incredible teachers that saw past my skin colour and supported me.”
Rana Begum: Ordered Form is a free exhibition, curated by UH Arts + Culture, running from December 8 to April 14 at St Albans Museum + Gallery.
Find out more at stalbansmuseums.org.uk
