Category: Practice Based Research

Reflective writing about the pieces I create or experiment with in studio during this MA, along with samples of sketchbooks and notebooks etc.

The Untold Edition — Tree Planting Drive with Akhuwat Foundation

I had been researching a lot of public art projects and they inspired me to recreate the idea that public art can break walls. Literally. So the first thing I did when I landed in Karachi was go and buy bricks. Yup. 500 red bricks which we then painted a pale terracotta and stenciled with ‘The Untold Edition” name. The idea was to build a wall out of them along with 500 plants and to invite people to pick up a brick, take home a plant and plant it with the brick placed next to it. Symbolically, and literally, public …

The Untold Edition — what really happened

When I started this MA, my work was divided into two veins. There was my self-taught, studio practice stemming from completely random inspiration, shared with the audience only after it had been edited into material I deemed fit for an audience. Then there were my community projects; an un-choreographed intermingling of me as an artist with my audience. The objectives of these two divisions of my practice were also totally different. Studio practice was sold, or gifted, or simply kept in a folder to look back on. Community projects were small sparks intended to impart a love for art, inspire …

Interactive digital installation — first attempt

It is my personal belief that art requires an audience. If art means something to somebody then I believe it has fulfilled its purpose. It may inspire, repel or cause controversy but it will evoke something in someone. Put like that, one could say art may be incomplete without an audience? What if we view that thought literally? Interactive digital installations seek to make the audience part of the art itself. They unfold like a performance. They create connections. I always imagine interacting with a digital installation as taking part in a dream. Something unreal is taking place and the …

The Coding Conundrum

There are so many things I thought I’d do that I still haven’t done: Writing blogposts on all the lectures that have been posted so far Getting around to some art related reading material — still sorely lacking Among other things. But, other than the fact that I am swamped with work trying to pull of my public art project, I have been irrevocably stuck on the digital installation I wrote about earlier. I tried to keep the project simple, but it does require coding. And, for someone like me, who is absolutely new to it, it can be quite …

Women’s day

Women’s day

Women’s day was quite a while back but I forgot to write a blog on a small exhibition that happened at Ascott Hotel Jeddah. It was called “Women Supporting Women” and it exhibited all kinds of arts and crafts. Here are the paintings chosen to be exhibited there:           I absolutely loved the exhibition space. An artsy person could just walk in there and feel at home. Mental note made in case I ever need a space for an art event in Jeddah!           Ayla and I even purchased this adorable pin …