Recent Exhibitions
Borough of Ealing Art Trail
11/12 - 18/19 September 2021
Venue: West London Trade Union Club
Ruby's work intends to trigger ideas around the diversity and history of London from a personal perspective. Her abstract paintings developed during her studies. She expresses shapes, flowers, colours and textures from her childhood memories to her language recovery. Inspired by German expressionist art as she uses shapes, abstract colours and gestural mark-making.
Past Exhibitions
A Melancholic Journey - Degree Show
The University of East London - Fine Arts BA Level 6
Friday 28th May 2021
Ruby Khan practice is widespread and includes light, printmaking, painting, photography, sculpture installation and book works. The work aims to trigger ideas around the diversity and history of London from a personal perspective. The work in the container examines her emotional past through the memory of specific experiences travelling through the Metropolis; the ‘container’ is used for this purpose.
The journeys and routes that Khan took as a child were to do with trauma and a recovery of language, through movement and light. She uses bold direct printed colour that is manipulated and shaped in various ways; light is dispersed and thrown through the hand cut-out out; using shadows to release hidden insecurities and particles of the city.
There is a relentless mechanical hand-made force to the materials Khan uses, where the obsessional and repetitive is taken to an extreme; all are hand printed over weeks and months and the end results are twisted and poised into position, aiming to evoke the traumatic and eventually wonderful routes through London.
Fragments are cut and dispersed throughout the Container and the viewer is invited to navigate their own path through and alongside the paper cut-outs of this immersive very real space; the structures inside mimic buildings and frail paper versions of post minimalist totems.
The series of prints and the ‘artists book’ in the corridor are a more autobiographical approach and intimate counterbalance to the Container installation, using early family photographs of the Artist growing up.
Her work highlights the value of London diversity. She is influenced by artists such as Feliks Topolski, Cornelia Parker, Christian Boltanski and Andrea Büttner. She is inspired by German expressionist art as she uses geometrical, bright colour and gestural mark-making in her works.
The film ‘The Cabinet of Dr Caligari’ and the use of light and shadow is a new and recent influence.
Past Exhibitions
A Melancholic Journey
The University of East London - Fine Arts BA Level 5
Friday 29th November 2019 - Monday 9th December 2019
The University of East London, The Container Space
Ruby Khan’s work celebrates both the physical and emotional journey she has undertaken throughout her life. At the age of five, she was diagnosed with a speech-language impairment which affected her confidence. She was a very isolated child. Through the ongoing help and support of a charity called 'Contact A Family'. Ruby has grown into a strong, independent and confident individual. Also, her work celebrates the diverse culture of London as London is full of culture with bursting colours around the city. The work presented here explores her journey as an individual and the memories of confidence-building day trips of London organised by contact a family. She has used the screenprint printmaking process to create these works. Her work communicates these memories; her work utilises layering to convey these repeated experiences and the impact they had on her life where she felt overwhelmed. Influences came from both of these artists 'Idris Khan and Stephanie Jung'. Also, her work communicates the diversity of London as London is a city full of colours and excitement. Throughout the city, she has explored the use of colours inspired by the 80s disco music; where she was raised with the 80s music throughout my emotional journey. She has also been influenced by the use of colour from David Bowie's collaboration with Damien Hirst.
Past Exhibitions
A Melancholic Journey
The University of East London - Fine Arts BA Level 4
Friday 9th July 2019
Credit Suisse, Canary Wharf
Ruby Khan was selected for the BAME Networking and Global Art Exhibition. Her work observes both the physical and emotional journey she has battled with throughout her life. At the age of five, she was diagnosed with speech and language impairment which affected her self-esteem. She was a very isolated child. Through the ongoing help and support of a charity called ‘Contact A Family,’ Ruby has matured into a strong, independent and confident individual. The work shown here explores her journey as an individual and the memories of confidence-building day trips into London organised by ‘Contact A Family’. Taking influence from both Idris Khan and Stephanie Jung she has layered images of London to indicate these complicated experiences and the value they had in her life. The colour red is dominant throughout her images, signifying her as a strong and a confident individual and the colour found in the logo of ‘Contact A Family’. Like the 2014 Turner Prize work of Ciara Phillips, she has attempted to create an environment that overpowers you. The work dominates the wall space initially reflecting confused and overwhelmed memories, a jumbled mess of sights. However, as her journey continued, her confidence grew, these memories became refined, focused and confident.
Past Exhibitions
A Melancholic Journey
The University of East London - Fine Arts BA Level 4
Tuesday 23rd May 2019
Ruby Khan’s work memorialises both the physical and emotional journey she has undertaken throughout her life. At the age of five, she was diagnosed with speech and language impairment which affected her self-esteem. She was a very isolated child. Through the ongoing help and support of a charity called ‘Contact A Family,’ Ruby has developed into a strong, independent and a confident individual. The work presented here explores her journey as an individual and the memories of confidence-building day trips into London organised by ‘Contact A Family’. Taking influence from both Idris Khan and Stephanie Jung; where she has layered images of London to reflect these multiple experiences and the importance they had in her life. The colour red is dominant throughout her images, representing her as a strong and confident individual and the colour found in the logo of ‘Contact A Family’. Like the 2014 Turner Prize work of Ciara Phillips, she has attempted to create an environment that overwhelms you. The work commands the wall space initially; revealing confused and overwhelmed memories, a jumbled mess of sights. However, as her journey progressed, her self-confidence grew, these memories became defined, focused and confident.
Past Exhibitions
A Melancholic Journey
The University of East London - Fine Arts BA Level 4
Wednesday 10th April 2019
Ruby Khan’s work praises both the physical and emotional journey she has undertaken during her life. At the age of five, she was diagnosed with speech and language impairment which affected her self-confidence. She was a very isolated child. Through the ongoing help and support of a charity called ‘Contact A Family,’ Ruby has developed into a strong, independent and confident individual. The work presented here investigates her journey as an individual and the memories of confidence-building day trips into London organised by ‘Contact A Family’. Taking inspiration from both Idris Khan and Stephanie Jung; she has layered images of London to indicate these multiple experiences and the moment they had in her life. The colour red is dominant throughout her images, signifying her as a strong and a confident individual and the colour found in the logo of ‘Contact A Family’. Like the 2014 Turner Prize work of Ciara Phillips, she has attempted to create an environment that overwhelms you. The work dominates the wall space initially; showing confused and overpowering memories, a jumbled mess of views. However, as her journey proceeded, her courage grew, these memories became refined, focused and fearless.
Past Exhibitions
A Personal Physical Melancholic Journey
The University of East London - Fine Arts BA Level 4
Wednesday 12th December 2018 - Sunday 16th December 2018
Ruby Khan’s work celebrates the physical melancholic journey she has undertaken throughout her life. This painting was created with oil influenced by the artists Kurt Jackson and Jackson Pollock. The colours in the painting express her; learning basic colours as; she was diagnosed with speech-language impairment at a young age; during that moment she found it difficult to understand the basic colours.
Past Exhibitions
Inheritance
Uxbridge College - Art and Design Level 3
Tuesday 27th February 2018 - Monday 5th March 2018
Ruby Khan’s work explores the inherited cultures of Southall. This mix of mixed media collage uses abstraction to convey the rich, diverse culture of Southall life. Incorporating the influences of Fiona Rae her work celebrates the colours, the smells, energy and vibrancy found every day on the streets of one of London's most exciting boroughs. The work contains a variety of experimentation of materials all taken from her experiences of life in Southall. This has been achieved by using Lentils, Mung beans, Tumeric powder, Pepper, Salt, Acrylic paints on canvas that represents the characteristics and the context of Southall. In this mix media collage, she has specified the local area and want the viewer to feel the vibrant atmosphere by imagining themselves being in Southall experiencing smells of herbs and spices and also feel the vibrant colours and culture combined within.
Past Exhibitions
Memory Contact Sheet
Uxbridge College - Art and Design Level 3
Wednesday 13th June 2018 - Tuesday 19th June 2018
Ruby Khan’s work celebrates both the physical and emotional journey she has undertaken throughout her life. At the age of five, she was diagnosed with speech and language impairment which affected her confidence. She was a very isolated child. Through the ongoing help and support of a charity called ‘Contact a Family,’ Ruby grew into a strong, independent and confident individual. The work shown here explores her journey as an individual and the memories of confidence-building day trips into London organised by ‘Contact a Family’. Using a variety of printmaking processes, a vehicle to communicate these memories, her work utilises both scale and layering to convey these repeated experiences and the impact they had in her life. Taking inspiration from both Idris Khan and Stephanie Jung she has layered images of London to reflect these multiple experiences and the meaning they had in her life. Often, her memories of these trips are directed through the strick and controlled format of the Coach window, mirroring the photography of Luis Gispert. The colour red is dominant throughout her images, representing her as a strong and a confident individual and the colour found in the logo of ‘Contact a Family’. Like the 2014 Turner Prize work of Ciara Phillips, she has attempted to create an atmosphere that overwhelms you. The work dominates the wall space initially reflecting confused and overwhelming memories, a jumbled mess of sights. However, as her journey continued, and her confidence grew, these memories became refined, focused and confident.
Destination: BA (Hons) Fine Art, University of East London.
Past Exhibitions
Islamic Culture
Uxbridge College - Art and Design Level 3
Monday 3rd July 2017
Ruby Khan’s work explores the aspects of Islamic culture and patterns. When she was exploring the culture; she found out the background of the detailed patterns, Arabic language and Arabic calligraphy where she conveyed in this final piece. In this final piece, it expresses a meaning we say in our daily lives in the tradition of Islamic culture. She created four drawings showing different sayings and quotes and five combination lino prints combined with meanings of sayings and quotes translated in the Arabic language. She decided to do these prints and drawing because she wants people to experience quotes that are truly inspiring. These are the meanings translated in Arabic; where she has used it uniquely for every print and drawing. Here are some meanings: بركة {blessing}, {May the mercy, peace and blessings of Allah be upon you} قد رحمة وسلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته, {All praises are due to Allah} كل الحمد لله, {There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger} لا إله إلا الله ومحمد رسوله, {May Allah forgive me} الله يغفر لي, {“There is always something to learn from experimentation”} "هناك دائما شيء للتعلم من التجريب".
