Cultural trip: Artist Natasha Jozi on experimenting with work

ISLAMABAD:

Natasha Jozi is an artist who works with video and performance. After receiving a BFA in painting from Fatima Jinnah University in Rawalpindi, she went to pursue MFA in Studio Art from Montclair State University in New Jersey, USA, on a Fulbright scholarship. Having received several awards and exhibited her work internationally, Jozi believes the scholarship experience has been transformative.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Jozi said she considers herself to be an artist who doesn’t plan much. “For my post grad, I had a realisation that I was not really satisfied with my medium. I always felt like painting was restricting. Even sculpture and 3D was not embedding through my soul,” she shared. In fact, while leaving on the scholarship, she knew she wanted to experiment and change the layers of her work. As a result, she opted for a programme which was unconventional in nature and allowed her to indulge in the kind of experimentation she was hoping for. “The programme pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me think about my art practice,” she added.

After returning, Jozi has been very active in the art scene of Pakistan. She writes for Art Now, an online art magazine, practices performance art, and exhibits globally. She has also been contributing to art by teaching. Last year, she received the Fulbright Alumni Small Grant for her exhibition, ‘We Are All Mad Here’. More recently, she attended two international art residencies – one in Chicago and one in Switzerland.

According to Jozi, since Chicago is rich in art and culture, the residency gave her time to explore and grow as an artist. “The art institute of Chicago is the only in the world that has an official programme for performance art. Being there was a great experience,” she said.

Moreover, her residency in Switzerland was also special. “In Switzerland, I got to see amazing work. You don’t get to see that kind of work anywhere else,” Jozi mentioned, saying if one firmly wants to study art, they should go to the US, but if they want to see it, then Europe is the place.

Jozi also believed there is potential for performance-based art in Pakistan. “Galleries are now becoming open to performance-based art and students are exploring this territory, they are catching up with the idea so there is definitely potential,” she said. It will, however, take time as many consider it to be a secondary medium which cannot be bought. “It is definitely growing with time and a lot of people want to talk and learn about it,” she added.

Currently, Jozi is exploring the intersection between performance art in the gallery and performing art in theatre. “I am in the process of starting work on a theatre play, which has a take from the performance element of visual arts and the merging of these together in front of a live audience,” she stated.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 3^rd, 2016.