Karachi Series 1 (Chandra Acarya, 7:50pm, 30 August 2008, Ramadan, Karachi)

2008 - Photography (Photography)

60H x 76W x 8D cm

Bani Abidi

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The threshold in contemporary Pakistan between the security of private life and the increasingly violent and unpredictable public sphere is represented in Abidi’s 2009 series Karachi . These staged photographs were shot against the backdrop of the city’s empty streets at sundown during the holy month of Ramadan. During this time, Muslims fast and retreat indoors, leaving the city eerily empty. By portraying ordinary citizens from religious minorities, the photographs reclaim the occupation of public space. Domestic gestures are brought forward and presented in the streets. By being so specific about the times and locations where they were shot, Abidi tests the political potentials of these everyday gestures. In Karachi Series I (Chandra Acharya, 7:50pm, 30 August 2008, Ramadan, Karachi) (2009) a middle-aged woman sits in front of a dressing table plaiting her hair. The royal-blue sari suggests her identity as non-Muslim.

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Bani Abidi’s practice deals heavily with political and cultural relations between India and Pakistan; she has a personal interest in this, as she lives and works in both New Delhi and Karachi. The artist’s subject matter ranges from border tensions to immigration conflicts, cultural diversity, and the relationship between private and public space. She works in the media of video, photography, and drawing.

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Colors:

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• artist as ethnographer
• collective history
• conflict
• cross-cultural dialogue