Dawn Images

Sara Shakeel, an internationally acclaimed multidisciplinary artist from Pakistan, has coined a unique signature style for herself with maximalist use of crystals, gemstones and sparkles in her artworks. Her art, that she calls digital crystals, is taking her to places across the world.

In Lahore, she held a solo exhibition at Remix Café, Gulberg, the other day, featuring artworks where X-rays, glitter and gemstones were put together to show the artist’s distinct artistic language.

The exhibition, titled You Can See Through Me, displayed 25 artworks of Sara who explored themes of love, feminism, beauty and spirituality. The title of the event hinted at the themes focused on personal self of the artist as well as her philosophy.

An artwork showed two human figures hugging each other, almost kissing while crystals of various colours like pink, green, blue, amber, purple and gold illuminated the energy of their subjective selves. The X-ray like image studded with colourful gemstones and crystals signified the inner human beauty as well as intimacy but at the same time, it could also symbolise rising materialism in the contemporary world and how it could impact human connection, love and relationships.

Another artwork showed a couple hugging each other, again with abundant use of crystals and gemstones, showing the beauty of love and relationships. The skeletal image expanded the message of the work and opened it for more interpretations beyond gender, age and ethnicity.

Feminism appears to be one of the major themes of Sara Shakeel. An artwork in the exhibition showed a middle finger to the world, focusing on rebellious nature of the art. But this image also had gemstones, crystals and jewellery which diluted the aggressiveness from rebellion and added beauty to it. It also brought feminism into play as the middle finger showed what the world or society meant to the artist. The theme of feminism was explored in other works on display in the exhibition, including one showing motherhood and pregnancy, again symbolising continuity of human life and beauty of motherhood through crystals and gemstones. Female skeletal figures featured in yet another artwork in black and white but in this work, crystals were replaced by flowers. The group of women in a work showed sisterhood with preservations of individual self at the same time. Yet another artwork took the viewers to the theme of motherhood with babies in the womb and flowers in a female body, once again celebrating life and its continuity. The theme of feminism was reinforced by another image of stiletto, symbolizing power and assertiveness.

Spirituality is yet another theme explored by Sara Shakeel but here too, she continues exploring spiritual self without leaving her signature style. The black background brought the light of gemstones and crystals into the focus, making the message clearer.

Other artworks on display in the exhibition featured human body parts like hand, feet, and skull all made to look dazzling and less grim with plentiful use of crystals and gemstones.

Use of gemstones and crystals is the signature style of Sara Shakeel which makes her works stand out with all their naked beauty. The x-ray of faceless images broaden the scope of the artworks to represent larger human life than any particular facial features could do. The technique gives Sara’s art more universal appeal beyond race, ethnicity or nationality and anybody can relate to it, beyond borders. It also focuses on the internal self, emphasising spirituality. Most of the artworks in the exhibition had black background that shifted more focus on the message in the artworks as well as their colours, contrasting colourful crystals with darkness.

Sara’s art has been displayed in the UK, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and other countries. She has collaborated with Chance the Rapper for his debut album, showing that her journey is moving beyond visual art. She has been featured in Vogue magazine.

Sara, now based in London, was pursuing dentistry when she started exploring art with use of crystals and sparkles and started sharing it on her Instagram profile. She drew widespread attention that took her to places and a different course of life. She is now known as “Queen of Crystals” or “crystal artist”.

The exhibition was curated by Laila Premjee and Silah Saigol of LP Art Consultancy.

Originally published in Dawn, August 31st, 2026