In a drama played out in three acts, a woman frolics in an overgrown Eden. Her skin is the colour of patina on copper; fleshy and defiant, she reaches for the fruits above. Radiating and immersive, the triptych is artist Farazeh Syed’s spin on the…
“Olive Branch is an exhibition based on the genocide in Gaza”1, Nafisa Rizvi does not attempt to mince her words in the curatorial note for the exhibition titled Olive Branch which was held at Koel Gallery in Karachi. The exhibition…
Witnessing live broadcasts of war and violence has left millions around the world questioning their sense of autonomy and the state of humanity. The global scale of our collective grief grows with each passing day for the lives lost. Some…
In the last year or two, Lahore has seen a number of galleries open their doors to the public— in terms of curation some of these galleries have attempted to offer somewhat offbeat and exceptional shows. In the July of…
Erving Goffman, the venerated Canadian sociologist, is renowned for his profound insights into human interaction through his dramaturgical perspective. In his seminal work, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Goffman eloquently draws parallels between social dynamics and theatrical performances,…
Having a conversation with the artist Meher Afroz, about her month-long residency with Studio RM, was more than just a warm cup of soulfulness. A conversation about love, family, beliefs systems, history and the art of living itself are what…
Artists have long deliberated what constitutes the idea of ‘home’ and the introspectiveness that accompanies it. Certain memories of home remain preserved in the mind even after their tangible existence has vanished, while others are swept away as soon as…
It is hard to review a retrospective of an artist who has taught you the very ABCs of art and has mentored almost everyone you know of in the contemporary art world of Pakistan. What’s even harder is writing about…
The significance of a shared experience can be examined by deconstructing its residual memory, the sequence of events becomes a string of buoys on the shoreline creating a horizon of unified observations and impressions. Even though the physical experience might…
Marium Agha’s visionary embroideries are overlaid on carefully selected tapestries. The transformation of the original tapestries— from found object into artwork with personal meaning— has become a hallmark of her process. By unpicking, emphasizing, and adding on to sections of…