Combining art, craftmanship and design, using the diversity of paper materials, from their density to their rigidity, and wielding scalpels and Stanley knives with meticulous care, Suhail Shaikh is able to express the contrasts of a material that is simultaneously light and rigid, fragile and durable. This allows the artist to capture the ephemeral in the tangible. White paper, his preferred medium, provides Suhail Shaikh with the means of interpreting fragments of life that inspire and surround him. The simplicity of the material contrasts with the complexity of the idea. The absence of colour also highlights the play of shadow and light with a purity and lightness that reinforce the meaning of the forms.
His installation La délicate légèreté de l’être (The delicate lightness of being) plays with paradoxes and fragility. It presents the complex relationship between paper and water, two simultaneously opposing and complementary elements. The paper dome, hanging above the mirror surface of a basin of water, creates a dangerous proximity, a visual tension reinforced by the reflection that brings the two materials together. The dome symbolises balance, both spiritual – evoking the reassuring form of places of prayer – and physical, like a drop of water balanced on a thread. Whilst delicate in appearance, the structure has been designed to be as light as possible, like lace, whilst remaining rigid. Finally, movement lies at the heart of the work because the paper water drop consists of several concentric rings that represent undulations on the water’s surface.