Form in Suspension: Rana Begum’s No.1367 Mesh
An interview with Rana Begum, Pallant House.
Colour, light and geometry are the constants of Rana Begum’s practice. Rather than declaring themselves loudly, they unfold through movement, reflection and time, inviting the viewer into a state of heightened awareness. For Begum, colour is never merely applied; it is experienced as something felt in the body as much as it is seen. This sensibility lies at the heart of No.1367 Mesh, her monumental installation at Pallant House Gallery, on view until April 2026.
Rana Begum, No. 1367 Mesh, suspended within the Pallant House Gallery staircase
Suspended within the gallery’s historic staircase, No.1367 Mesh introduces Begum’s signature mesh clusters, often described as ‘clouds’, into the 18th-century Queen Anne townhouse. Crafted specifically for this site, the gridded, translucent forms spill over the balustrades and drift through the central void of the staircase, responding to the building’s architecture as much as inhabiting it. As visitors ascend and descend, the work reveals itself in fragments: colour shifting, surfaces glowing, forms dissolving and reassembling with every change in viewpoint...
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Image Credits:
Lead: Rana Begum, No. 1367 Mesh, 2024.
All further images courtesy of Pallant house. Photography: Taran Wilku.