This research is based on the assertion that personal histories, memories andassociations require... more This research is based on the assertion that personal histories, memories andassociations require conduits through which to form a viable mode of expression. Heremy own body is the conduit through which I perform and record the world around me;drawing is taken as performative, building on the arguments of art curators and writersCornelia H. Butler and Catherine de Zegher. The body is a dynamic mechanism thatincorporates variable patterns of movement, occupation, and density, and the spacesurrounding it therefore becomes a highly charged zone of intertwined activity betweenthe physical and the psychical. Anzieu Didier identifies this space as an area wherepacts are negotiated between outside and inside, and where meaningful encounters takeplace between the two. It is the liminal space of the skin that bears the traces of suchencounters.From this perspective the thesis focuses on various types of mark making between thebody and its immediately surrounding spaces. It investigates the p...
In 2008, Abdullah M. I. Syed and Roohi S. Ahmed curated the show Let's Draw the Line in Karachi, ... more In 2008, Abdullah M. I. Syed and Roohi S. Ahmed curated the show Let's Draw the Line in Karachi, which exhibited an introductory survey of drawing practices by twenty-two local Pakistani artists. The exhibition was the first in Pakistan to examine drawing as both a finished artwork and as a process and study. Besides finished drawings, a selection of studies and pages from sketch books were shown that otherwise may never have been viewed. These preliminary sketches and subsequent finished drawings reveal either a unique phase of the artists' visual practice, or responses to a unique collective and personal tragedy or triumph. The sketches also highlighted unusual techniques, visual vocabulary and, this paper argues, identifies the roles of drawing among the artists and the degree of self-imposed censorship in their art practice. The present paper goes beyond the scope of the original exhibition to include evidence from a larger group of artists. Asking artists to show their sketchbook studies, and to speak about their drawing process was more problematic than anticipated. Although some shared enthusiastically, most were not comfortable with the idea of their 'private' work going on public display. For some, sketchbook pages provide 'imaginary spaces' to be shared uncensored, or sharing could lead to 'copying' of ideas. Sketchbooks also hold the 'embarrassing truth' about their drawing ability, and for others, they hold either 'dangerous' ideas or private thoughts. Investigation of the artists' sketchbooks shows common trends of 'free exploration of ideas', 'hidden practices' and 'self-censorship'. This paper focuses on this phenomenon, revealing the social, religious, political and personal ruptures of conciseness in these books. A wide variety of sketchbooks were observed, presenting diverse styles, subject matter, and artistic skill. Ranging from the dirty, messy and full of writing, poetry, scribbles, songs, political slogans, wishes and prayers, to the clean, organised and well-articulated, these sketchbooks oscillate between notions of hidden meaning and revelations of what has been imagined and what is finally presented.
This research is based on the assertion that personal histories, memories andassociations require... more This research is based on the assertion that personal histories, memories andassociations require conduits through which to form a viable mode of expression. Heremy own body is the conduit through which I perform and record the world around me;drawing is taken as performative, building on the arguments of art curators and writersCornelia H. Butler and Catherine de Zegher. The body is a dynamic mechanism thatincorporates variable patterns of movement, occupation, and density, and the spacesurrounding it therefore becomes a highly charged zone of intertwined activity betweenthe physical and the psychical. Anzieu Didier identifies this space as an area wherepacts are negotiated between outside and inside, and where meaningful encounters takeplace between the two. It is the liminal space of the skin that bears the traces of suchencounters.From this perspective the thesis focuses on various types of mark making between thebody and its immediately surrounding spaces. It investigates the p...
In 2008, Abdullah M. I. Syed and Roohi S. Ahmed curated the show Let's Draw the Line in Karachi, ... more In 2008, Abdullah M. I. Syed and Roohi S. Ahmed curated the show Let's Draw the Line in Karachi, which exhibited an introductory survey of drawing practices by twenty-two local Pakistani artists. The exhibition was the first in Pakistan to examine drawing as both a finished artwork and as a process and study. Besides finished drawings, a selection of studies and pages from sketch books were shown that otherwise may never have been viewed. These preliminary sketches and subsequent finished drawings reveal either a unique phase of the artists' visual practice, or responses to a unique collective and personal tragedy or triumph. The sketches also highlighted unusual techniques, visual vocabulary and, this paper argues, identifies the roles of drawing among the artists and the degree of self-imposed censorship in their art practice. The present paper goes beyond the scope of the original exhibition to include evidence from a larger group of artists. Asking artists to show their sketchbook studies, and to speak about their drawing process was more problematic than anticipated. Although some shared enthusiastically, most were not comfortable with the idea of their 'private' work going on public display. For some, sketchbook pages provide 'imaginary spaces' to be shared uncensored, or sharing could lead to 'copying' of ideas. Sketchbooks also hold the 'embarrassing truth' about their drawing ability, and for others, they hold either 'dangerous' ideas or private thoughts. Investigation of the artists' sketchbooks shows common trends of 'free exploration of ideas', 'hidden practices' and 'self-censorship'. This paper focuses on this phenomenon, revealing the social, religious, political and personal ruptures of conciseness in these books. A wide variety of sketchbooks were observed, presenting diverse styles, subject matter, and artistic skill. Ranging from the dirty, messy and full of writing, poetry, scribbles, songs, political slogans, wishes and prayers, to the clean, organised and well-articulated, these sketchbooks oscillate between notions of hidden meaning and revelations of what has been imagined and what is finally presented.
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