Rana Begum
Rana Begum will draw inspiration from Oulu’s subarctic light and intricate shapes of its sea ice to create an interactive series of sculptures that will transform the city’s central square. Developed through conversations with glaciologist Alun Hubbard (Professor, University of Oulu), Begum draws on his research of the alarming melting rate of Arctic Circle glaciers.
Bio
The work of London-based artist Rana Begum distils spatial and visual experience into ordered form. Through her refined language of Minimalist abstraction, Begum blurs the boundaries between sculpture, painting and architecture. Her visual language draws from the urban landscape as well as geometric patterns from traditional Islamic art and architecture. Light is fundamental to her process. Begum’s works absorb and reflect varied densities of light to produce an experience for the viewer that is both temporal and sensorial.
Born in Bangladesh in 1977, Rana Begum lives and works in London. In 1999, Begum graduated with a BA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art and Design and, in 2002, gained an MFA in Painting from Slade School of Fine Art.
Selected exhibitions include: Solo show, Kate MacGarry, (2024), Ordered Form, St Albans Museum + Gallery, (2023), Dappled Light, Mead Gallery & Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery, (2022), Concrete, (2023), The Box, (2023), Desert X, (2023), Life is More Important than Art, Whitechapel Gallery, (2023), Urban Impressions, Moody Centre for the Arts, Houston (2022), Infinite Geometry, Wanas Konst, 2021, Is This Tomorrow?, Whitechapel Gallery (2019), Space, Light & Colour, Djanogly Gallery (2018), Solo show, TATE St Ives (2018), Actions, Kettle’s Yard (2018), Women to Watch: Heavy Metal, NMWA Washington (2018), curated Occasional Geometries, Yorkshire Sculpture Park (2017), and Space Light Colour, Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich (2017).
The exact locations of the artworks will be announced later. Climate Clock public art trail will launch in June 2026.