Adeela Suleman is a contemporary Pakistani sculptor and visual artist whose work is currently on display in an exhibition titled ‘Fearless’.
The exhibition displays contemporary art by South Asian women and deals with various topics, including fragmentation, displacement and the colonial British obsession with ethnographic documentation.
Currently, she is an associate professor and head of the Fine Art Department at The Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture in Karachi, Pakistan. She is also the founding member and Director of Vasl Artists’ Association.
In an exclusive talk with SBS Urdu, Adeela explained the idea behind her current work.
After All It's Always Somebody Else Who Dies (Series) Source: Author
“If you look at a single unit in the pattern, you will see that the birds are not alive," she said.
"I was inspired by a large number of birds I have seen in Karachi’s sky and the ongoing violence in the city. I started recording the number of deaths reported in the city every day and decided that I will dedicate one bird, in a pattern, to each death. I was shocked that soon I couldn’t’ beat the number and failed to catch up with it.”
The more the deaths, bigger the monument; but Adeela says she just made as many birds that she could in a repetitive pattern to demonstrate the multiplication and intensity of violence witnessed in the city.
Politics and art
Adeela says her work is biographical and a depiction of her life and journey; it's also based on political satire.
“I believe every artist’s work speaks of their experience. Some do it more often, others not too much, but it is evident.”
She is closely attached to her city, Karachi, although “every day looks like a struggle, a war. You can’t just stay in this city and not be inspired or affected.”
“You can’t just stay in Karachi and not be inspired or affected.”
Deeply rooted in north Indian tradition, culture, and religion, yet Adeela is also acutely aware of the urban and political realities that surround her in modern-day Karachi.
“I try to be politically conscious. I am not a political scientist, but I strongly believe that when you talk about the outer world, it becomes political.”
Other work at NSW Art Gallery
Adeela Suleman's The Warrior Source: Author
Adeela had previously exhibited her work in 2014 at the NSW Art Gallery. She said ‘The Warrior’, made from hand-beaten stainless steel, demonstrates the relationship between her “ambivalent childhood” and the peacock, which plays as a metaphor for her relationship to country.
Besides Adeela’s, ‘Fearless’, other major works are featured by artists including Huma Bhabha, Shilpa Gupta, Reena Saini Kallat, Nalini Malani, Pushpamala N + Clare Arni, Shahzia Sikander, Dayanita Singh and Zarina.
The exhibition runs until 13 January 2019.
