River in an ocean, 2018

River in an ocean — a collateral event of Lahore Biennale 01, co-curated by Abdullah Qureshi and Natasha Malik, took place in Lahore from 20 — 31 March 2018.

Borrowing the title from late artist and activist Lala Rukh (1948 — 2017), the exhibition saw the 80s as critical in Pakistan's history. It surveyed the feminist legacy of art and activism in Pakistan. Through an open call process, the works of 27 contemporary artists and collaborators were presented, addressing themes of gender, institutional inequality, traditional roles and spaces assigned for women, and the challenging of heteronormativity through queer perspectives.

The exhibition included a day-long dialogue series, including performances, talks on gender and film with Akifa Mian and Rabia Hassan, and a panel discussion curated by Mehlab Jamil and Sarah Suhail on the state of trans rights in Pakistan.

Artists: Amra Khan, Anushka Rustomji & Zara Asgher, Aziz Sohail, Damon Kowarsky, Faraz Aamer Khan, Farsam Zafar & Waleed Zafar, Fiza Khatri, Haider Ali Akmal, Hilde Krohn Huse, Imran Nafees Siddiqui, Lali Khalid, Maha Ahmed, Malcolm Hutcheson, Mohsin Shafi, Mustafa Boğa, Natasha Jozi, Noor Choudry & Harris Chowdhary, Noor us Saba Saeed, Rabila Kidwai, Rehan Bashir & Gillian Rhodes, Saba Khan, Sarah Mumtaz, Seyhr Qayum, Ujala Hayat, Vidha Saumya, Zahrah Ehsan, and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

View e-catalogue
Photographs courtesy: The Creative Process