difficult are the meanigns of words
- Listen
What it really means if what I desire is illegal? I see fear, frustration, and ferocity has risen within me over the years, but along with that a kind of political awakening came to the forefront… something parallel to a prolific paranoia. I see in me a transformative power of not just the self- representation but to also represent many more like myself who spend most of their lives – hiding.
In the midst of turbulent social and political landscapes, artistic souls continue to emerge, their creative essence unbridled by the world around them. Yet, the art they create may face scrutiny, weighed against the scales of convention. The artist’s sensitivity, poured into their process, becomes a tender shoot, vulnerable to the harsh judgments of society. For those who dwell in the margins, belonging to a sexual minority, the burden of expression can be crushing. The weight of conformity can silence the whispers of the soul.
The experimental sound piece is an intimate tapestry, woven from the threads of threats, the haunting melodies of religious sermonsand some whispers to myself.. a constant commemoration of life.. that still is beautiful.
Mohsin Shafi
Mohsin Shafi is a storyteller living and working in Lahore, Pakistan. His work is informed by his immediate socio-political contexts,encompassing the themes of tensions and conflicts around navigating culture and identity; transgression and transfiguration of masculinity and gender crossover; articulating territorial struggle of literary traditions within religious and spiritual subcultures; the clash of social norms and individual aspirations; the fantasies and anxieties between attachment and disaffection, and the south asian notions love and hate.
These affairs inspires artist’s work and transforms what he sees, into the disputed and the unreal and creates in the process a loaded, often perplexing world that is at once familiar and yet bizarre.Although the work deals with very actual material, data, recordings and existing individuals – He’s primarily interested in the disorientating nature of the stories and situations that surround our lives. Through his practice, he probes the spaces between translation and interpretation. By combining sentiments of tragedy, tenderness and humour, he seeks to create non-colonial gestures to enact healing, rebalance and repair.
Shafi holds a Master’s Degree in visual arts and Bachelor’s Degree in visual communication both from the oldest school of art in Pakistan, the NCA Lahore. He served his alma mater for six years as faculty member in both departments he studied from, before he was exiled for his outspoken writings and activism in early 2018. Since then he has been focusing on his own practice.
Shafi uses collages, photography, video, text, installations and performance for his art commentaries. Besides his own practice, he is a core member of the Awami Art Collective, which is a unique group of artists and activists intervening in the public space in Lahore - Pakistan for the cause of peaceful co-existence and celebration of diversity.