Saad Qureshi: Something About Paradise at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

In the nave of YSP’s 18th-century Chapel, three monumental organic forms rise from the ground, spread with landscapes, buildings and mysterious structures. A closer viewing reveals an eclectic mix of architectural styles, from traditional temples and churches to modernist houses and palaces, nestled among panoramas of forests, deserts and fantastical geological formations.

Qureshi is an avid gatherer of stories. In developing Something About Paradise he travelled around the country asking those with and without faith what paradise means for them. Speaking directly to people allowed the artist space to interpret the descriptions of indistinct and imagined places, as seen in memories and dreams, into physical installations that he refers to as ‘mindscapes’.

Standing against the Chapel walls are seven ornate, hand-cut and painted wooden gates referencing both the gates of paradise or the seven heavens that are common to many religions. By combining the earthly and spiritual in the meditative setting of the Chapel, Qureshi invites audiences to reflect on common ground in today’s frequently polarised society and opens up possibilities for a profound and hopeful dialogue between people.