Narrators of Dissonance is a collective exhibition on view at 1X1 Art Gallery. Curated by art historian and artist Salima Hashmi, the exhibition presents the works of four talented South Asian female artists: Nida Bangash, Ruby Chishti, Aisha Abid Hussain, and Sania Samad. The show will end on 31 March 2025.
The multifaceted nature of women’s artistic expression is often reduced to generalisations that fail to account for the intricate socio-historical structures shaping their work. Patriarchal ideologies remain deeply entrenched, influencing the challenges women artists face. Within this landscape the exhibiting artists engage with their mediums, using their practice as a form of resistance and exploration.
Straddling the line between tradition and subversion, these artists navigate the loaded connotations embedded in their materials and processes. Their works, rich in personal and cultural significance, carry an emotional weight that resonates with the artist and viewer. Themes of home, sanctuary, the body, and garments form the backdrop against which each artist wrestles with questions, doubts, dreams, and creation.
Aisha Abid Hussain‘s (b. 1980, Peshawar, Pakistan) practice, which spans multiple mediums, from photography to film, is deeply rooted in research and an engagement with personal and global histories. Archival documents, scripts, photographs, and texts form the foundation of her creative process, as she excavates forgotten narratives to weave them into contemporary visual language. Trained in miniature painting, she seamlessly bridges traditional and modern techniques, exploring the intersections of past and present.
Nida Bangash (b. 1984, Mashhad, Iran), trained in Persian and South Asian miniature painting, employs painting, sculpture, performance, and video installations to examine loss, dislocation, and territoriality. Born in Iran and raised in Pakistan, she investigates the intricate ties between these cultures, using Mashq (an interdisciplinary practice loosely translated as “exercise” or “repetition”) to question institutional remnants of colonial histories. Her work transforms domestic spaces into politically charged arenas where memory and identity are continuously negotiated.
Ruby Chishti’s (b. 1963 in Jhang, Pakistan) sculptures and installations breathe new life into discarded fabric waste, from ceremonial wear to thrifted denim. Through these unconventional materials, she explores resilience, migration, gender politics, Islamic myths, and collective memory. The artist says: “I am drawn to what discarded, mass-produced garments reveal about us — our interdependence on other humans and life forms, how we perceive […] the world, and the traces left by those near, distant, or absent.” Her background in Punjabi literature influences her practice, drawing from male Sufi poets who adopted female voices to challenge societal norms.
For Chishti, hand-sewing is a tribute to generations of unsung women, a meditation on interdependence, and a means of reclaiming forgotten histories. Her work unravels the intimate relationships between material, labour, and identity, honouring the fragility and tenacity of human existence.
Saina Samad‘s textile-based practice intertwines memory, history, and resistance. Using materials imbued with cultural and emotional significance, she crafts narratives that defy erasure, embracing the fluid complexities of identity. Through layering, stitching, and repurposing, she transforms fabric into a “tactile archive”, where the textures of history, imagination, and emotion converge.
Recurring motifs of birds and animals, such as parrots and cats, carry personal and symbolic weight in her work. These elements reflect the interplay between individual and collective experiences, challenging fixed notions of identity and celebrating its evolving nature. In Samad’s hands, textiles become more than fabric: they are vessels of transformation, resistance, and enduring hope.
To learn more about Narrators of Dissonance, please visit the show’s official web page.
You might also be interested in exploring Fahrelnissa and the Institutes: Towards a Sky, one of the online exhibitions at the Cultural Foundation.
