Nosheen Iqbal Translates Islamic Ornament into Meticulous Wood-and-Thread Patterns

Meticulously cut wooden panels, semi-precious beads, and layered thread and cordage transform into intricate geometric reliefs by Nosheen Iqbal. The Dallas-based artist draws on her background in product design and illustration to create chromatic works that tap into craft, nature, and ancestry.

Taking inspiration from her Pakistani heritage and the immanently ornate forms of Islamic architecture and ornament, Iqbal combines wood, which she might associate with building, with textile-related media like fiber and beads. The resulting compositions are elegant meditations on the power of pattern to connect us to culture, family, and familiarity.

Iqbal’s work is currently on view in the artist’s solo exhibition, Inherited Forms at MAINSITE Contemporary Art in Norman, Oklahoma. Her material explorations examine “how patterns passed through generations carry narratives of identity, belonging, and resilience,” Iqbal says in a statement. “These inherited forms become a visual language; one that transcends words and quietly preserves histories that might otherwise disappear.”

Inherited Forms continues through September 11. See more on Iqbal’s Instagram.

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