Samir Mahmood
Symplegmatic Portals

Samir Mahmood is a Pakistani artist based in Dublin. His practice encompasses painting, textiles, objects and video, with a particular focus on themes of identity, representation, bodily awareness and spiritual transformation. The works draw from and challenge the imagery and techniques of traditional miniature painting from the Indian subcontinent, which are historically associated with power and heteronormativity. They engage with the garden as a motif of paradise across religions, symbolism in Sufism and Christianity, alternative theories of consciousness and narratives of queer existence.

The exhibition Symplegmatic Portals features a substantial group of newly created works, including a series of large-scale scrolls, alongside an extensive selection of works made between 2017 and 2024. They all explore what the artist calls ‘queerscapes’ – transcendental spaces of liberation where bodies, on their own or in dialogue with nature, are interacting, mutating, coalescing. The term ‘symplegma’, part of the exhibition’s title, carries multiple meanings related to sexuality and connectedness. It points to the artist’s embrace of hybridity, especially gender indeterminacy and fluidity, as well as his own blended cultural experiences.

This exhibition is produced by SIRIUS and curated by Miguel Amado, Director.