Powerful artwork touches on social stigmas

LAHORE: At least 14 graduating students of the Kinnaird College for Women put to their months’-long works on display at Alhamra Art Gallery on the Mall. The show will conclude on Friday (today).

The 2017 thesis show displayed the works of 11 textile design and three fine arts students. Fine arts student Zoya Khaleel’s work explored the language of the subconsciously changing facial expressions of a person while communicating. The aim was to create an illusion of movement.

Sharmeen Malik based her artworks on the bonds of blood and the feeling of presence of relationships. Speaking about her work, she said one cannot overlook the impact of closely knit family relations when living in an extremely family-oriented society.



Momina Kaleem’s work explored the intensity of one’s inner self through complex folds. Explaining the concept behind her work, Momina said that the feelings, thoughts and sentiments of an introvert remained a mystery by the mask of these folds.“They represent the behaviour of a person unwilling to interact with the outer world. However, it also highlights how one feels comfortable in one’s personal existence,” she added.



A student of textile design Khanzul Emaan, whose work titled From Courtesans of Yore to Modern Day Whores, is also on display. The artist said her thesis was a journey of the social stigma attached to the tawaif culture. “I attempted to convey the atrocity behind their rich culture, miserable downfall and being them penalised by society today,” she explained.

Hajrah Hayat Khan’s thesis highlighted the importance of people suffering from down syndrome. “This condition is misrepresented in our society, often resulting in humiliation for the person born with it,” she said.  The artist said the condition compromises the position of patients in the social order.

“I have endeavoured to highlight the personality traits and imaginative world of a child with Down syndrome in the form of an interactive play unit for children,” she added.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2017.