Environs
One of the earliest mentionings of Pakistan’s coastline, is speculated to be in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a piece of Latin, composed by an anonymous Egyptian sailor who ventured eastwards from the Red Sea to discover the unknown around the 1st century. Written in a matter-of-fact style, the sailor comes across the meandering mouths of a marshy delta, fed by the River Sinthus (Indus) where a famous market-town named Barbaricum provided anchorage to the locals as well as mercantile mariners (Fagan; 2017). Barbaricum is postulated to be a predecessor of Karachi and fishers have thrived in the Indus Delta long before farmers and industrial activities harnessed sources of water and soil in the region. With ports such as Ibrahim Hyderi, Bin Qasim, Keamari and other commercial and naval anchorages, Karachi’s economy is irrevocably a result of its access to the sea.
Afiya Asif
| 2021
Urban development continues to take over Karachi and each year thousands of trees end up being sacrificed for this cause. My work takes inspiration from this and for many months now I have been actively collecting chopped branches which are found dumped into various empty plots, footpaths and parking lots within the premises of Clifton and DHA. These discarded branches are brought together, refreshed and reimagined as solid structures where they are not only given an independent identity but also another opportunity to interact within an architectural space that once took over their space.
Arzoo Binte Azad
| 2019
This work revolves around my father’s job as a marine engineer, which requires him to stay away from home for a longer duration of time. This work traces the impact of distance upon the whole household, especially on me. The process started from creating bizarre compositions of our house that is fragmented, to show how his absence is felt by every member of the house. I used objects utilized by my father, such as his couch, photographs and a paper boat to denote his job as a marine engineer. One of the main visuals that appeared from his photographs was of the sea that became a vital part of these compositions. Together with all these visuals, I tried capturing emotions within my work, such as, absence, discomfort, unease, worry, gloomy and fragmented within it.
Inshal Tahir
| 2021
My project is rooted in a personal inquiry of the Banyan trees as these majestic two-hundred year old, historically significant trees are being neglected and cut down in the Old Clifton area of Karachi. Banyan trees (ficus bengalensis), grow overwhelmingly over each other and expand over a given site. Along with their sizable presence, they interest me because they have witnessed our region’s violent history—Karachi’s colonial past as well as current and ongoing sectarian and political violence. In my work the form of the Banyan trees has been fragmented, manipulated and transformed – using ideas from within science fiction to create a narrative around invasions and reclamation of these beings who have shape-shifted and assembled together in an alternate universe as a response to a threat to their environment. Through my work I attempt to portray a sense of alienation and…
Khadija Jamot
| 2024
My work revolves around the exploration of Phitti Creek within the Indus Delta. Growing up in the coastal fishing village of Ibrahim Hyderi gave me the opportunity to explore different islands since childhood. My continuous exploration of Phitti Creek—located 11 km from Ibrahim Hyderi on Bundle Island—is because of the importance it holds for the people in my village due to the presence of the shrine of Yousuf Shah and the annual visit made to it, as well as voyages to the shrine once a new boat is made or to commemorate the return of fishing season. My work engages with the varying land and seascapes, textures, creatures, indigenous plants, and even the way the island is used by locals. This may be some of the last footage of the island before it becomes a city. We don’t really know what…
Mashaal Amjad
| 2021
Fishing practices in Karachi exploit the natural resources of the sea by following unsustainable practices that are disruptive to the natural cycle of marine life. My work talks about the ecological shift and projects the evolution of marine life in our seas where these practices are still continuing. Through drawing, the work explores an imagination of how these animals will adapt to the new changes caused by humans. These works suggest that animals take the form of vessels, native to the particular fishing areas of Karachi, as well as its pollutants, and mutate in order to survive.
Saleha Qureshi
| 2018
It is an image embedded at the back of my mind, the image of the sea. For 24 years I have opened and closed the curtains watching the sea change. Various reasons bind together in affecting the sea. My work is not limited to just a single view of the sea as it may be seen from a lone window but rather changes as you try to view it from different angles. This depicts how one might be uncomfortable with the idea of visiting certain places and how we don’t appreciate what we have until one loses that certain thing.
Samina Hassan
| 2023
By 1992, my village Khair Mohammad Laghari, located in the center of Sindh, had been destroyed and rebuilt more than 4 times by rippling climatic conditions. My visuals suggest the irreparable loss of a lingering past that predicts a painful, difficult future. I document the transforming landscape through satellite maps, photographs, and videos that show ephemeral traces of human and non-human habitats. Droughts and floods plagued the land for two decades, and ecological erosion and human displacement, silent landscape videos conflict with their heavy surroundings to show how human interventions impact on the natural environment.
Tahura Kamran
| 2023
The home gardens of Karachi are scattered unequally across the city, with wealthier areas boasting a greater abundance of green spaces.These are commonly partitioned by concrete walls, leaving a smaller portion outside which often serves as a stop for passersby to rest, chat and drink water. This year, I engaged in frequent conversations with people I met in these outside garden strips, as well as more individuals that they mentioned and I sought out. My network expanded over diverse settings such as streets, homes, and parks, where I asked questions about planting, growing, and tending and in return received stories, memories, objects, and sometimes even secrets—of these, I photographed, gathered and wrote.