Naeem Rana and Nusra Qureshi: The way you look at me

Two Pakistani born arists investigate and document their experience as migrants in Australia using traditional art forms adapted within the context of contemporary art, society and politics.
Bethany Small
Published on July 05, 2011

Overview

Naeem Rana and Nusra Qureshi are both artists of Pakistani birth who have adapted traditional forms of representation to depict their contemporary experience of the world. Having migrated to Australia in 2001, Rana and Qureshi have continued to practice Urdu calligraphy and Mughal miniature painting, and for this exhibition combine them with sculpture and digital photography in a reflection on (in)visibility and adopted spaces. Qureshi's calligraphy is recontextualised within advertising and pop culture and digital media, and Rana has transformed the scope and the scale of the works she creates using techniques for miniatures.

This exhibition offers insights on several levels: into Pakistani art, history and development, and on how the ancient and contemporary can be synthesised. There's also a point being made about how Australian culture has responded to and influenced Rana and Qureshi as people and as artists, perhaps suggesting that they've garnered more recognition as the latter than the former.

Information

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