ISLAMABAD: The Satrang Gallery inaugurated a group show, The Unwritten, featuring the works of Anushka Rustomji, Bibi Hajra, Emaan Mahmud and Natasha Malik.

The gallery’s director, Asma Rashid, said: “In light of the recent devastation caused by the floods, Satrang Gallery is donating part of its sales towards supporting the relief efforts of International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism (INTBAU Pakistan) in building pre-fab bamboo shelter homes with zero carbon footprint. Besides showcasing the best in contemporary art, Satrang Gallery has always strived to be socially responsible”.

The curator, Zahra Khan, said: “The Unwritten explores the female or feminine influence in mythology and mysticism. The exhibition seeks to honour the legacies of female practitioners and acknowledge their often-forgotten contributions through the perspectives of these four artists.”

She said: “South Asia has a strong and beautiful culture of mystic thought and mythological lore. In this exhibition, the artists deal with aspects of feminine influences upon these legends of mysticism, mythology and particularly the representation of women in shared culture and memory. These legends have been passed down through oral histories and some written texts. In a primarily male centric society, they have often been retold through male-gendered lens. The voices of female practitioners have been quietened - purposefully and accidentally. At times they have been vilified and at others celebrated.”

Anushka Rustomji’s practice is influenced by the themes of history and erasure, in reference to colonisation and diasporic communities. Her visual vocabulary is informed by ancient Eastern imagery, texts and traditions. She utilises the symbolism in texts and myths to form veiled visual narratives conveying ideas of creation and destruction, survival and transcendence, through which she interrogates cultural and historical connotations.

Bibi Hajra addresses urban segregation and development, and recently religious symbolism and aesthetics. Her recent work focuses on the shrine of Bibian Pak Daman, documenting and depicting the lives of women devotees and the various narratives of the saint Bibi Ruqqaiya, the daughter of Hazrat Ali, that are shared within that space.

Ms Hajra says, “Bibian Pak Daman is at the centre of Islamic geography. My work experiments with the linkages between the hagiographies and discourses of Bibi Ruqqaiya and her companions and the everyday conversations in her shrine as it undergoes renovation since the last two years.”

Emaan Mahmud’s work explores the presence and absence of sexuality in the female body. Amidst the collisions between East and West, spirituality vs institutionalised religion, women’s bodies become a battleground where different beliefs and thoughts clash. The abstracted drawings of the body and fabric, is a visualisation of societally-imposed collective body shame which somehow coexists with acceptance of the self.

Explaining her work, Natasha Malik said: “My work focuses on feminine mythology. In one of my pieces, titled ‘Parastoo slaying the Tree of Evil Tongues’, I have created a powerful character or being who has control over her own narrative and has her own agency. The film piece and other works are inspired by feminist surrealist and are about the cycle of life and death as experienced through the body and perspective of a woman. All these women are meant to be strong, inspirational figures and connect with my other work which deals directly with patriarchal structures and female identity within them”.

Malik’s practice encompasses painting, sculpture, printmaking, film and photography. An ongoing concern in her work, is the exploration of female identity and sexuality developed within the constraints of patriarchy. The imagery of the female form in complex and confining architectural spaces examined the tensions arising from a desire for independence from patriarchal structures.

A visitor, Abdaal Bukhari, said: “I personally feel this is a great exhibition. It is giving female artists an opportunity to exhibit what they feel about society and how they depict themselves in their artwork through varied media and perspectives”.

Zahra Jadoon, another visitor to Satrang, said: “The exhibition was very powerful; it talked about the feminine perspective and the information and women who have been lost in time. As a woman, it led me to reflect on these matters”.

She also appreciated the contributions of the artists and the Gallery in helping the people of Pakistan and supporting relief efforts.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2022