Essays

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Essays

A solemn serving: the Fourth Karachi Biennale KB24

Five years before Waheeda Baloch stood on Bagh Ibne Qasim’s Katrak Band Stand as curator of the Fourth Karachi Biennale (KB24)—with the sun setting before her, and the biennale beginning¾ she was a participating artist at the same location, for…

The Risky Business of Art Authentication – Part II

My first article on the subject published in December 2021 by The Karachi Collective (TKC) garnered significant interest from art collectors, gallery owners, foundations, and auction houses - some with great appreciation and others with discomfort of being called out…

Invisible Fruits and Contested Yesterdays: A look at narrative through the lens of Documenta 15

If you mark truth on a timeline, who chooses the starting point? Since October 2023, newsrooms and academic campuses particularly in the West, have been accused of taking sides in the Israel-Palestine conflict. “I don’t think it’s the ‘Israel-Gaza war.’…

The Neglected Waters

Being at the coast is a magical experience that encapsulates the purest form of serenity. The very essence of tranquility permeates the air. The intimate saltiness that lingers once you arrive at the water’s edge seems to dance around you.…

On Joining the NFT Art Mania: Creative Liberation or Lotacracy

Commissioned and published in Garland Magazine, March 2022 Issue, Australia and subsequently presented at the Karachi Biennial’s Public Forum later that year, The Karachi Collective publishes Abdullah M. I. Syed’s On joining the NFT art mania: Creative liberation or lotacracy…

A Year Later: Revisiting the Khoj Design Research Residency

The Khoj Design Research Residency, was designed as a response to a dearth of research in design academia in Pakistan. While the field of fine art has established research driven art practice, the field of design lags far behind. Faculty…

Modernism, Decolonization and Reinvention in Ceylon. The Life and Work of George Keyt (1901 – 1993)

Born a year after the turn of the 20th century, George Keyt was one of the leading figures of European modernism in Asia. Fusing the influences of Modernism and Cubism with his own unique idiom, Keyt became one of the…

Rights of Karachi: How can a vision of Karachi’s Master Plan learn from peer cities?

This study looks at the development of Karachi’s master plan through a comparative lens with the intention of establishing a precedent for developing a city by examining how Karachi’s peer cities have evolved. It has been done by curating a…

A Brief History of South Asian Book Traditions

“My grandfather says that’s what books are for,” Ashoke said, using the opportunity to open the volume in his hand. “To travel without moving an inch.” Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake1   The two-thousand-year-old remarkable tradition of books in South Asia…

Political Influences on Sartorial Trends in Pakistani Television Drama

Disclaimer: All photos attached in the article are screenshots taken from drama videos available on YouTube until 2023. The screen grabs specific to the article’s theme result from a personal watch of important Pakistani dramatic works based on extensive research.…

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