Dawn Images

The group exhibition Unfolding Identities, curated by Mohammad Zeeshan Haider Jamali, was recently on display at ArtCiti Gallery in Karachi and served as a delightful blend of various art forms and practices.

It is fascinating to see the traditional art form of embroidery re-emerging today and gaining renewed appreciation, especially in the art world, for its beauty, precision and expressive potential. Ahwar Nasir’s artwork ‘Nano’s Secret Store’ is an example of an artwork that is re-engaging with this tradition.

With the textured surface of thread embroidery on cotton, she depicts stories hidden within everyday objects: folded and unfolded clothes and items scattered across Nano’s personal or intimate interior — possibly a storage space. The piled fabrics become metaphors for layered memories and personal histories. The title hints at nostalgia and the quiet intimacy of a space where a loved one’s life story is stored piece by piece.

Her second piece of embroidery on calico, titled ‘Always in Transit’, also celebrates nostalgia. A cluster of luggage — perhaps a life — locked inside suitcases and boxes appears to be waiting for travel, migration or departure.

With a surrealist approach, Hafsa Sarfraz’s ’Chamber of Quiet Offerings’ depicts a grayscale composition accompanied by a red pomegranate suspended in air, symbolising a long-awaited wish or dream and the possibility of fertility or growth. Two separated chairs, positioned beneath a clock frozen in time, evoke a profound stillness and suggest silence, nostalgia and the emotional pause that lingers between people and moments. The sleeping cat acts as a quiet mediator within the scene, softening the tension of silence and serving as a symbolic guardian of the space.

Drawing inspiration from dot painting — an art form that emerged in 1971 — ‘Untitled’ by Maseerah Abdul Razzaque is a richly textured work filled with small biomorphic shapes: petal-like clusters, rounded forms and leaf motifs that visually echo the idea of complexity emerging through multiplicity.

In Uzma Bhatti’s ‘Untitled’, intricate pen work radiates from a dense central cluster, suggesting identities — or natural elements — splintering, merging and evolving at once. Meanwhile, Qaiser Khan’s drawing features abstract, intertwined ribbon-like forms that fold into one another, each suggesting a distinct yet inseparable psychological or emotional layer.

Mufakhar Subhani’s ‘Jaan Deyo Saddi Varri Aan Deyo’ mocks the relentless lust for power and the cyclical obedience that sustains it. At the centre sits a surreal hare, a clever ruler comfortably enjoying his authority on the throne, unwilling to leave the seat he occupies. In front of him stand two human figures — one fully rendered and adorned in traditional clothing, the other a stark white silhouette, an intentional absence. Both wait obediently for their turn to claim the crown.

Rendered in a monochromatic palette, Mutaib Shah’s ‘The Angry Crow’ suggests warning, watchfulness and conflict. The work shows two horned beasts, positioned on a map-like structure, caught in an intense moment of confrontation or entanglement. The imagery suggests themes of displacement, boundaries, conflict and the struggle to claim one’s place — whether literal or metaphorical.

In Sumaira Amin’s ‘Untitled’, the warm brown silhouette appears to interact with, or perhaps reveal, the serene framed scene rendered in a traditional miniature painting style. As the silhouette extends into the frame, it generates a dynamic visual tension that bridges two distinct spaces within the work. The result is a visually poetic exploration of both cultural and personal narratives.

Rabia Mushkur’s ‘Beauty in Silence’ admires quiet moments of introspection and reflects emotional terrains. The earthy browns, soft greys and washed-out whites create a serene yet dramatic environment.

Sadaf Zeeshan’s ‘Becoming of Line-Horizon’ — a canvas divided diagonally into two intense, opposing zones — creates an immediate sense of tension and movement, resembling two powerful forces in collision or contrasting emotional states. Layered with paper on white glue, doodled over and finished with thick, hand-applied paint, the work suggests a therapeutic release for bottled-up emotions.

Unfolding Identities was on display at ArtCiti Gallery, Karachi from November 20 to 25, 2025.

Originally published in Dawn, EOS, December 28th, 2025