Since graduating from Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design I have been freelancing on various projects using narrative based subjects and exploring aspects of the female form using clothes, fabric, movement and the environment as a symbol of resistance....
[more]Since graduating from Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design I have been freelancing on various projects using narrative based subjects and exploring aspects of the female form using clothes, fabric, movement and the environment as a symbol of resistance. In 2009 I collaborated with a British artist in Bangladesh working on a research project entitled Architectural Displacement documenting the untold narratives of the Bihari community in Bangladesh, who are Pakistanis stranded in Bangladesh since its independence in 1971. We were interested in revealing a conscious stream of memories of a place and time often neglected, this included visiting campsites across Dhaka to unravel these stories.
I have co-curated a show entitled In-formation with Other Asias, a Pan-Asian arts initiative that brings together international artists and the Asian Diaspora - based in London (UK), Lahore (Pakistan) and Dhaka (Bangladesh). My work involved establishing a dialogue between artist across genres and art forms on one singular platform. I then went onto work on a feature length documentary entitled Our Story, Our Voice, that looked at giving a voice to communities and those that are underrepresented in present day UK society. Through these projects I learnt to create a social function for the art and work that I do.
My work explores the themes of identity and gender-based representation as seen in myth, divinity, reality and as propagated by culture - both historical and contemporary. I am interested in mapping connections between human condition and the environment we inhabit. Using the body as a metaphor for the earth/landscape, my work investigates the politics of creation and transgression. I draw from a broad range of influences including myth, the natural world, figurative painting, religious iconography, mystical philosophies and the cultures in which I was raised (Bangladesh) and am a part of (UK).
I see the next stage of my professional and artistic development as increasing my experience and understanding of women in marginalized communities around the world, and working out how this influences and informs my photography and visual language. I hope that through new connections, new collaborations will emerge and create new ideas for how to use photography, moving image, sound and performance to promote social cohesion.
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