It may be best to begin with a memory. A figure of marbled flesh stands atop a plinth, through the folds of a robe one can discern the silhouette of legs, and beneath a draped foot the name “Venus” is…
In a time when the global population is forced to isolate, socially distance itself and come to terms with its socio-economic disparities in a real way, a recent show attempts to bridge various forms of gaps in the art world.…
Microcosm 4 is the most recent in a series of exhibitions held previously between 2017-2019 and curated by artist-curator Adeel Uz Zafar at AAN Gandhara Art Space in Karachi. This iteration considers artworks by thirteen5 emerging Pakistani contemporary artists who…
The magic and mayhem of a mega-city like Karachi provides unending opportunities for artistic commentary. A recent exhibition at The Full Circle Gallery titled ‘Creative Alternatives’ showcased the work of four artists and one writer-in-residence, all of whom had participated…
What is important here is not only art’s social conditions but also the relationship of artistic production to art history. However, national histories of art cannot be perceived, constructed and narrated independent of or separate from the mainstream modern art…
Iona Fergusson and Numair A. Abbasi respond to photographer Wendy Marijnissen’s book Always the Guest. Dislocating photography from the narrative of representation both writers present the readers with multiple viewpoints to engage with her works while sparking a conversation on…
Art in Pakistan has a story that needs to be told by all who have lived through its turbulent years. As an insider to it for half a century I will be using this space to connect history with today…
In times of friction and unrest, art disarms yet cavorts with the ingenious acts of creation allowing for moments of introspection. Adeela Suleman’s solo presentation titled Bashi Bazouk held at Canvas Gallery opened on March 9th 2021. Bashi Bazouk, the…
Published in 2020, Not Everyone’s Heaven is a compilation of Suleman’s work wherein Salima Hashmi articulately sets the tone into motion with her the prefatory essay, by expanding on the trepidations and trajectory of the artist, through poignant notes. Hameed…
For centuries, representations of women in South Asian visual art have defined female experience through difference, weakness, sexual availability, domesticity, passivity – objects to be represented in art as opposed to the makers of art. However, today “the canons of…