Liminality, a state of being out of place, disoriented or in transition, is an experience that helps to gain perspective — to unlearn and thus be able to learn. Victor Turner coined the term ‘Liminal Space’ based on anthropologist Arnold van Gennep’s concept of transformational space between phases of separation and reincorporation. Others such as Homi Bhabha and Miwon Kwon have also considered the in-between space that could become a means to rediscover oneself or create shifting perspectives about the self.

Many artists intentionally dislocate themselves to unfamiliar places to acquire perspectives that otherwise remain inaccessible. Miwon Kwon links this to ‘deterritorialisation’, which produces liberating effects, multiple identities and meanings as a result of inexplicable meetings, chance encounters and circumstances. Kwon further says that one can also arrive at an unfamiliar place metaphorically for example when faced with loss or tragic events.

Roohi Ahmed’s show “Liminal Space” at the Koel Gallery, Karachi, is about those situations, circumstances or transitional places where she found herself over the last few years. The current assemblage of work orbits around human body — the physical and the ephemeral. Her engagement with the sewing needle began post 9/11 as she considered its potency as a weapon. However, in later years the same needle was used to depict human body that can weave and stitch life’s narratives.

The current assemblage of Roohi Ahmed’s work orbits around the human body – both the physical and the ephemeral

In the current show the taut needle has been magnified in size and twisted to acquire the shape of a pliable thread — a role reversal of sorts though it remains frozen in its current position. These metal sculptures are similar in form to another series of work in the show — digital prints of artist’s body twisted and contained in cloth. In both these series, the forms have been reconstituted to alter perceptions based on accepted roles.

Other works that reference body are more direct in form and idea. Two stitched red silk and velvet sculptures, hung on the wall, are shaped as human bodies in which part of the body, a layer is beginning to peel away. One can read death in these corpse-like forms where soul is in the process of leaving the body or perhaps a transitional stage when one sleeps or is in a state of loss of consciousness. This work more closely references theory of Liminal Space — of separating to be reunited.

The transformation and ephemerality of the body is further demonstrated in a large digital print. The artist has made marks on sand with her body and photographed the marks. The absence of the body and presence of its marks creates a sense of loss. The marks are also temporary as visitors passing through the area trample them. Persisting with a similar method of working, Ahmed has created a set of drawings without looking and allowing the hand to create marks on paper as the hands and body move with the vehicle. These drawings document the artists’ journey between two places creating sensory maps.

The artist has worked extensively with the idea of mapping in her previous shows — maps of the journey through a volatile city, of divided countries and borders. In the current show, these maps appear in the marks that she creates on sand with her body, on paper with her hands as well as in the form of lines on her hands that are believed to predict and govern life. However, the artist sews new lines on her hand with a needle and red thread creating new maps for her life.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, September 25th, 2015

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