Commissioned Works (2016-2021)
The Raj and the Empire II, gouache on archival print, 22x14.25 inches length, 2021
Set on a colonial-era Indian note leading to the final era of the British Raj (1930s), this piece displays a stand-off between Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan and King George VI. Having ruled India a few hundred years apart, these historic figures on an old currency note symbolise different eras of Kingship, and question the colonisation of cultures and nations.
The Raj and the Empire I, gouache on archival print, 22x14.25 inches length, 2021
3 Wishes (different lighting), gouache on archival print, 22x14 inches length, 2021
Look Into My Eyes, gouache on archival print, 12x7 inches, 2021
The Sultan and The Emperor, 12x7.5 inches, gouache on archival print, 2021
The Coloniser's Paradise II, gouache on archival print, 5x2.5 inches, 2021
Kingship and kinship, 5.5x2.5 inches, gouache on archival print, 2021
Stairway to Heaven, gouache and gold pigment on archival print, 18x9.75 inches, 2021.jpg.jpg
My work combines elements from Mughal miniature paintings, currency notes, popular culture and kitsch to comment on politics, history, society and the human condition. With Queen Elizabeth II's recent passing, this piece, completed last year, takes on a new meaning; it now speaks of her legacy and onward journey. For me as an artist from the South Asian diaspora, there are many elements and questions: as a former colony, there is critique of the colonial legacy of the British Empire, there is awe of the Queen's enduring 70 year reign, and there are questions about money and its value in today's inflation-riddled world.
The sanctity of life, gouache on archival print, 5.5x2.5 inches, 2021
In God We Trust, approx 18x8 inches, gouache on archival print, 2021.jpg
The Conference of The Birds, 26x4 inches, gouache on archival paper, 2021 copy
The dance of the dervish, 1.5x2.5 inches approximately, gouache on archival print, 2021
The Exotic Holiday, gouache on archival paper, 5x2.5inches, 2021
The Jewels Are Inside You, 9x3.9 inches, gouache and papercut on archival print, 2021
Magic Lotus, 4x2.5 inches, gouache on archival print, 2021
Gaze, 4x2.5 inches approximately, Gouache on archival print, 2021
Where The Roses Have Opened, 9x3.9 inches, gouache and papercut on archival print, 2021
Where The Birds Sing, 4.2.5 inches, 2021
Curiouser and curiouser, 6.4x2.5 inches, gouache on archival print, 2021
The Land I Walk Upon (pentaptych), 5x2.5 inches each, gouache on archival print, 2021
The Land I Walk Upon 1 (detail)
The Land I Walk Upon 2 (detail)
The Land I Walk Upon 3 (detail)
The Land I Walk Upon 4 (detail)
The Land I Walk Upon 5 (detail)
Ego Is a Ghost Terrified of Dying, 22x30 inches, gouache on archival paper, 2021
Sun Salutations, 18x8 inches, gouache and papercut on archival print, 2021 copy
Alif, 18x8 inches, gouache on archival print, 2021
Sitaron Se Aagey, 4ft x 3.5 ft, gouache on archival paper, 2020, pictured in Ali Hamza's studio
Sitaron Se Aagey, 4ft x 3.5 ft, gouache on archival paper, 2020
Step by Step process of creating Sitaron Se Aagey
Acrylics on Canvas, 24x36 inches, 2016
