In The art that made me, artists discuss works in the Art Gallery of NSW collection that either inspire, influence or simply delight them. This selection by Abdullah MI Syed first appeared in Look – the Gallery’s members magazine.

‘The Art Gallery of New South Wales was where I first saw a few of the artworks that changed the direction of my career from design to fine arts,’ says Abdullah MI Syed, whose work is included in The National 2021: New Australian Art. Syed’s practice usually responds to his interest in modes of care and mortality, with a specific focus on the roles of mother and son. Reminiscent of his family home in Karachi, Pakistan, his Art Gallery of NSW installation – a detail of which is shown here – is situated in a series of corridors within the Gallery. A collection of vignettes in a variety of media, each responds to different events in the life of his late mother. Syed works between Sydney, Karachi and New York, and his practice weaves real and fictional narratives of east and west, knitting together cultural and art historical references and concerns – an approach reflected in the works he has chosen to highlight from the Gallery’s collection.

Ken Unsworth Suspended stone circle II

Like ripples from a small stone dropped in water, this work of 103 levitating river stones changed the course of my art practice, and perhaps my decision to move to Australia to study art. What sets this enduring and monumental masterpiece apart is the wonderment it creates. The first time I saw it, it brought out the child in me that gleefully whispered ‘how is this possible?’ The wires encompass all corners of the room like rays of light, creating infinite spatial and temporal mystical ripples of an Australian landscape. In 2003, I paid homage to this work and created a site-specific suspended installation using spices, threads and spice-dyed cloth. Today, as part of The National 2021: New Australian Art, my work is on display in the Gallery just metres from where I first saw Suspended stone circle II, connecting two works with creative ripples created by the stone of imagination.

Artist (or artists) unknown Female figure

Lacking any detailed archaeological record or interpretation, this ancient terracotta female figure, apparently excavated in my native land of Pakistan and now residing in an Australian museum, alludes to how unrooted, hidden and anonymous the life of an immigrant, especially a woman, can be. On the one hand, this figure feels separated from various other mysterious female terracotta figures found in Harappa, in Punjab, and the Mohenjo-daro archaeological sites in Sindh, where I am from. On the other hand, the decorative floral hairstyle and partially open left eye have an uncanny resemblance to my mother Azra’s sleeping position. A perpetual migrant, Azra always kept an open eye on her children and the house. Nonetheless, by no means am I attempting a simplistic archaeological interpretation, labelling the figure as a ‘cultic’ object (eg Mother Goddesses), but rather remembering and invoking a woman like my mother and her influence on her family, home, the land and the preservation of accessorial memory.

Sir Edward John Poynter The visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon

This 19th-century Victorian painting captures the essence of a story of personal agency, respect, angst and love. Despite his questionable Orientalist renditions of exotic female figures, Poynter masterfully illuminates a dramatic scene from a prominent monotheistic religious story – the first meeting of two leaders, the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon of the United Monarchy (Israel), who were in awe of each other’s wisdom, courage and beauty. This painting hovers between an Orientalist dream of 1001 Arabian tales and a simple modernday love story of first encounters. This scene is special to me as I not only grew up listening to and reading this story, but it also reminds me of my first meeting with my wife, Salma, in Lahore, Pakistan. The ornate gilded frame resembles the carved wooden doorframes of Lahore architecture and creates a portal that transports me to that exact moment of our first meeting.

Hossein Valamanesh Middle path

While studying Urdu poetry at school, I always wondered about the meaning of the word ishq (love, or passion). Later, I learned through the Sufic mystical tradition that true ishq is attained through fanna – the complete annihilation of the self/ego. In my personal life, and through exploring art, the concept of love, empathy and ego erasure has been an important subject. Hossein Valamanesh’s Middle path was one of my early introductions to an art that is a sophisticated and enduring emotional expression of fanna. Performed like a masqh (exercise) with concentration and dexterity, Valamanesh draws calligraphic renditions of the word ishq using saffron dye on a scroll, paying homage to traditional Islamic craft and Iranian cultural memory. The intensely written words at the beginning and the end of the scroll create a middle path towards the centre where the word ishq gently fades away to a point of erasure, suggesting the possibility of the annihilation of the self/ego through love.