The title of the exhibit grabs your attention immediately. ‘We Sin-phool Women’ is a play on the English translation of eminent writer Kishwar Naheed’s famous feminist poem, Hum Gunehgaar Auratein

[We Sinful Women]. The artists behind this deeply insightful, multidisciplinary exhibition that evokes strength in femininity and vulnerability are Tessa Makai and Zahra Mansoor.

‘We Sin-phool Women’ — phool is the Urdu word for flower. And this exhibition uses wires, muslin cloth and the jasmine flower to explore the intricacies and hardships of femininity in South Asian public and private spaces. The exhibition is focused on how the dynamics of femininity in South Asia are a juxtaposition of beauty and violence, and the vulnerability of exhibiting that femininity out in the open.

The focus of exploration is a series of sculptures created from wire mesh and motia [jasmine] flowers. The artists mentioned that the sculptures were placed in Karachi’s public spaces to create a performance through public interaction. Also presented in this show are self-portraits painted on muslin cloth alongside ‘jasmine stories’ told by South Asian women which were earlier performed in New York City.

Each sculpture is built from wire mesh. The sharp metal represents a deep-rooted culture of violence against women. Then, it’s covered with jasmine flowers. According to the artists, “These flowers are a symbol of the divine feminine in the Himalayan region, and are also the national flower of Pakistan. They are poignantly a part of both celebration and mourning.

“Motia is closely tied to the concept of physical touch and tactility within ritual, as the flowers are draped over faces, tied around wrists, and blanketed over graves. Placed in public spaces, these motia women attract attention, investigating how people interact and perceive them. They are stared at as a spectacle, exemplifying the female experience in being in a public setting. They are disturbed by passersby and slowly wither, leaving spaces of invisibility in each form.”

The idea of using muslin cloth was to exhibit intimacy — the idea of it touching the body. This is where things get a little macabre. “Muslin is an integral part of death ritual, domestic life, and historically, as clothing in the Indian subcontinent,” they said. “The paintings created on muslin cloth evoke a sensation of skin-on-skin, and explore how the lines and softness of the body up close echo the similar tenderness of flower petals.”

The exhibition is deeply personal — each piece was created the artists directly observing their own form and trying to encapsulate the “emotionality and femininity in the small crevices of the body.” The exhibit is a refreshing breath of fresh air from the usual fare offered in art galleries in Pakistan. One wishes the exhibit was on for longer.

The interdisciplinary artists, Tessa Makai and Zahra Mansoor, are currently studying at the Parsons School of Design’s Paris campus. ‘We Sin-phool Women’ came about through a research grant awarded to them in December 2021.

‘We Sin-phool Women’ was exhibited at the Chawkandi Art Gallery on June 25th, 2022

Published in Dawn, EOS, July 3rd, 2022