Zia Syed | The Songs of Reminiscence #6

Zia Syed, born in 1972 in Chiniot, Pakistan, is a multidisciplinary artist currently based in Toronto, Canada. Trained in both fine art and interior design, he studied at the Karachi School of Art, the National College of Arts in Lahore and at OCAD University in Toronto. Working across painting, sculpture, drawing, and printmaking, Syed is best known for his tactile relief sculptures and mixed media paintings. His recent series of relief sculptures, *The Songs of Reminiscence*, explores how once cherished structures of his hometown are reconstructed in his mind, forming new, evocative physical spaces.

Zia Syed has exhibited widely and has participated in major art events such as the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair. His projects have also included public artworks, such as murals commissioned for the Oman National Day celebrations. Syed's contributions also extend to arts education, with teaching experience in professional art and design institutions in Pakistan.

My work embodies a personal and evolving style that blends influences from Mughal miniature painting and traditional South Asian aesthetics. Architecture and domestic spaces are recurring themes in both my two- and three-dimensional works. In painting, I experiment with multiple viewpoints and textures, adopting a more refined and deliberate approach to mark-making. In my relief sculptures, I hand-carve small clay pieces by using both visual references and memory, and assemble them like puzzles before casting them into larger compositions. These works incorporate a fusion of materials—plaster, cement, resin, acrylics, plastic, high-density foam, metal leaf, and patinas—mounted onto boards to create richly layered, tactile surfaces. These pieces stand as a quiet reflection on impermanence and the need to hold onto what remains. I enjoy using metaphors and symbols to create engaging visuals. Viewers depend on their cultural backgrounds and understanding to decode and interpret these symbols.