Too much of a good thing can be wonderful
CATHY Project Space
Germany, 2022
These three silk curtains were designed in 2019 when I was living in London, studying for my MA in Fine Art at the Chelsea College of Arts.
Over several weeks, I was dressing up and putting on the outfits of easily identifiable masculine men featured in film and literature. By playing this game of casual cosplay, I attempted to adopt the roles of ‘larger-than-life’ heterosexual male characters such as James Bond 007, Indiana Jones, and a Royal Admiral. With the pictures I had taken of myself in these roles I was looking into the illusions behind power, mobility, and sexuality which are embodied by both fictional and real men who are portrayed repeatedly in popular culture. In opposition, the silk curtains briefly refer to the domestic and feminine, environments which I am very familiar with. By choosing recognizable backdrops such as the MI5 building, The British Museum, and Victoria Park, the compositions were intended to explore the deceptiveness of tourism and the way London is presented as canonical in terms of history, art, and films.
London is sold to us as a city of immense cultural wealth, and it is only once you live there you see the pendulum of power that demonstrates what a fantastic tool storytelling can be.
As an international art student from Pakistan living in England, one would expect to find so many more opportunities in this land of drinkable tap water, no power outages, and student loans. Pakistan is primarily a classist country and money will see you past any restriction or law. However, during my time in England, I found my new home to be quite a facade – if you didn’t own the right type of passport and if you weren’t the required ethnicity, your chances of success were minimal. I suppose this work embodied a time when I was wrestling with versions of myself – the well-spoken, grateful, and ambitious student, desperate to make it, and the privileged daughter who knew everyone there is to know. There was an evident disparity between my ‘home’ self and my ‘temporary migrant’ self.
Digital prints on polyester, 118.11 x 56.3 inches, 2018
Curated by Jurgen Dehm