Career
Butt"s work is rooted in her bi-cultural identity and retains the intricate, decorative patterning that characterizes Indian and Persian miniature painting. She has updated the medium"s painstaking technique with new materials, such as Positron Emission Tomography film, thread and collage. Ambreen Butt"s work, her miniature paintings, more specifically, are made to exemplify social issues.
In particular, Butt"s work addresses gender roles, cultural differences, the notion of freedom, and the meaning of human rights.
One such social issue, as mentioned, is the differences between the depiction of males and females. In an interview, Butt explains this observation.
“I was particularly struck by the representation of women in miniature art They were often depicted as small seductive creatures.
The male icons had a more god-like representation." “I was more concerned with the woman herself, rather than her body.”
Butt has also employed printmaking techniques in her work.
Her 2008 series Dirty Pretty combines the techniques of etching, silkscreen, and lithography, while earlier untitled series combine etching and aquatint. Solo exhibitions
2003 - I Must Utter What Comes to My Lips, Worcester, Massachusetts, Museum, March 1 - May 11.
