Texts: Kavita Singh
“Like Kahlo, Attiya has developed a personal symbology in her paintings. While the various columnar forms represent her spine, the tree is her most optimistic motif, because she bases it on the semal tree growing beside her house. Every year, she noted how it was pruned and how it grew back with greater vigour; the tree inspired Attiya not to give up and succumb to despair. Two colours that we often see paired in Attiya’s work also have symbolic meaning: the maroon stands for constriction, pain and limitation; the blue for the limitless sky, and the possibility of transcending this cage of bones.”
(excerpt from the catalogue essay, Free Fall, by Kavita Singh)