Chasing Mirrors: My Portrait, Shape by Shape is a new installation of work by contemporary artist Athier Mousawi and a collective of young people from Brent, Barnet and Ealing. Opening on 14 October 2011, the installation explores portraiture and concepts of representation and identity.

The installation is the final year of a three year project made possible with support from John Lyon’s Charity. British-Iraqi artist, Athier, works with bold colours, geometric Islamic shapes and abstracted Arabic calligraphy to create large-scale canvasses. The assembled mosaic of graphic phrases, embedded words, imagery and ideas in each work add subtext and allow each work to be experienced in many ways, as a whole or in detail.

The Chasing Mirrors: My Portrait, Shape by Shape installation began with the young people involved in the project creating self-portraits using symbols to represent the ‘self’, combined with Arabic geometric patterns from Islamic art and architecture. Athier incorporated elements of the individual self-portraits to create a portrait of each of the three collaborating groups, and this triptych acts as a collective portrait of all of the young people involved.

The triptych is linked to the original self-portraits by the young people, displayed in the adjoining room, by a series of interconnecting shapes and quotes on the Gallery floor. Athier says: ‘As a non-figurative artist, I was intrigued to be considered for this project. But soon, the idea of having three groups – three sets of people with completely different experiences – and responding to this with non-figurative portraiture became an inspiring prospect. There is no right or wrong result. Colours and shapes, which form the predominant characteristics of how I work, will only become clear during this journey.’

Chasing Mirrors: My Portrait, Shape by Shape’ (detail) © Athier, 2011 Born in 1982 in the United Kingdom to Iraqi parents, Athier grew up between London, Paris and Baghdad, gaining an MA in illustration at Central Saint Martins in 2007. He was Artist in Residence at the British Museum from 2007-9 teaching Arab world cultural awareness at selected schools and has also collaborated on workshops for the V&A.

In 2010 Athier was given an artist residency as part of Al Mansouria Foundation’s Arab Artist Program. The three community organisations involved with Chasing Mirrors: My Portrait, Shape by Shape are: An-Nisa, a women-managed organisation established in 1985 to promote a British Muslim identity; Paiwand, an Afghan Community Organisation established to unite and improve the quality of life of the Afghan refugee community in the UK along with their partners Barnet Refugee Service and Barnet Youth and Connexions; and Tallo, a community centre on the South Acton Estate that works with the Somali Community including asylum seekers and refugees mainly from Somalia.

This is the final year of a three year project made possible with support from John Lyon’s Charity. Each year a new lead artist, previously Alinah Azadeh and Faisal Abdu’Allah, has collaborated with participants on a series of workshops culminating in an exhibition of their work at the Gallery. The project has varied each year according to the artist’s practice, medium and their perspective and response to the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection which they have explored with the participants. The installation will coincide with a special season, Chasing Mirrors, Reflections on Identity, Art and Culture focusing on contemporary visual art and culture. Inspired by connections with the wider Middle East, the season includes the perspectives of storytellers, calligraphers, poets, artists, dancers, historians and writers.

A full list of events from the season can be found at www.npg.org.uk/chasingmirrors while the events listed below directly relate to the installation Chasing Mirrors: My Portrait, Shape by Shape.

In conversation with Athier Friday 21 October 18.00 Explore Chasing Mirrors: My Portrait, Shape by Shape with the artist Athier and gain an insight into his artistic practice, inspiration and the participatory nature of the project. Chasing Tales Monday 24 – Friday 28 October 11.30 or 14.30 An exciting week of half-term activities for families including storytelling, animation and calligraphy inspired by Chasing Mirrors: My Portrait, Shape by Shape. Families (5+ and carers)