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About the Artist

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Shameen Arshad is an Islamabad based visual artist and writer. She is a Fine Arts (BFA) graduate from National College of Arts, Lahore (2015) with a major in Painting. Shortly after graduation, Shameen began her curatorial practice, first as a Gallery Coordinator at AQS Gallery followed by the role of Assistant Curator at Khaas Gallery, Islamabad. She has served as an Art Critic for publications such as Art Now Pakistan, The Missing Slate and Youlin Magazine, where she frequently interviewed artists and critiqued exhibitions. She has also served as a fourth year Instructor at the National College of Art, Rawalpindi alongside maintaining her painting practice. Currently, she is pursuing an MA Painting degree at the Wimbledon College of Art on a Chevening Scholarship. Her work is part of private and gallery collections in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Dubai and London.

Statement:

My work is about the fluidity of Identity and the evolving nature of the term “Pakistani”. It is about the confused sense of self and the convoluted ideas of ownership and belonging due to a culture that is always in flux. I reveal the “Pakistani” as being a concoction of the east and west - a chaotic but culturally rich identity. Using my personal experiences as a basis for my work, I hope to give tangibility to an indeterminate multi- dimensional character.

I hope to present the muddled understanding we have of our own identity by deliberating over our tumultuous history, effects of colonialism and cultural Imperialism. Thus, I use painting as my medium to talk about cultural hybridity, or being in the middle of two distinct worlds, yet not feeling like you belong to either. My artworks will illustrate this metaphorical sense of displacement.

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