Thread by @oolabmys

Saira Wasim, a gifted artist from Pakistan, now based in the United States, has continued to depict the state of her homeland (and its position in the world) through a candid and allegorical lens for the past decade and a half. She has, rather remarkably, taken up (1/13)

taboo themes such as the naked hypocrisy of Pakistan’s leaders, the mullahs, and ‘honour’ killings of women.

Wasim graduated from the National College of Arts in 1999 and not surprisingly found international recognition soon enough. In 2003, her works were featured in (2/13)

a show at the #Whitney #Museum of American Art. In the same year, she undertook a residency at the #Vermont #Studio Center. Since then the US has been her home.

Wasim’s artistic expression is also influenced by her personal story. An Ahmadi by faith, she has (3/13)

experienced persecution and knows the intricacies of marginalization, and the hysteria for a puritanical patriotism. Her monumental work ‘Patriotism’ set the trend of making art a powerful mode of resistance. This was before she migrated to the US. The miniature (4/13)

challenged the construction of religious nationalism by depicting a motely crew of Mullahs – of almost all creeds and varieties – waging jihad, and a group of armed young men following their creed.

Wasim therefore is in exile, a marginalized citizen of Pakistan and of (5/13)

course a woman who has come a long way. She had to challenge family conventions to become an artist. These layers of exclusion and struggle are evident from her choice of themes and ability to unpack exploitative coatings of contemporary politics and society.
Throughout (6/13)

her work,Wasim has employed allegorical references, almost like a traditional Persian and Urdu poet. But she told me that her familiarity with Western art gave her the thought to fuse ideas. Her meticulo

Wasim plays on the theme of identity as an American, Pakistani (7/13)

and Muslim. This painting is a reinterpretation of the sixteenth-century Mughal painting, ‘Nasrat-e-Jang’ (victorious in War). The figure ‘Khan Dawan’ participated in and led major battles of his time to protect his country but spent much his life in spreading peace and (8/13)

shunning wars. The painting hints at American-Muslims’ patriotism and is also a humble plea to the ‘social injustice’, as Wasim told me.
For me

Wasim’s art transmutes into a powerful form of resistance to the mainstream ideology recycled by Pakistan’s power elites. The (9/13)

key question is, could she have done all of this while in Pakistan? It is true that many artists are doing that in Pakistan too. Imran Qureshi for instance has been producing brilliant critiques of society and its cultural symbols and Rashid Rana has taken his (10/13)

commentary to the global level by directly confronting globalization and its uneasy relationship with Pakistan.

Yet a #blasphemy case against an #art magazine, its editors and writers and of course its painters, hangs in the air. Artistic freedoms in #Pakistan are (11/13)

curtailed but also perennially resisted. Not unlike its history and genesis, Pakistan’s future remains open to interpretation. One thing is clear: the creative spirit of Pakistanis, at home and abroad, is not giving up. Not anytime soon.

Being Pakistani
Raza Rumi
(12/13)