Autobiographical Statement
  
Born, raised and educated in Lahore, Pakistan. In 1996 earned an M.F.A. degree in Printmaking and Drawing with distinction at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York. Exhibited in 2007 at TAG Gallery, Santa Monica, Los Angeles Municipal Gallery, Los Angeles, Woman Made Gallery and Black Walnut Gallery, Chicago, Abrons Art Center - Henry Street Settlement, New York and Projekt30, New York. In 2006 at the 7th Annual ArtWallah Festival, Los Angeles. In 2003 at the Residence of the Pakistani Ambassador to the US, New York and The World Bank Art Gallery, Washington, D.C. in 2002. Also exhibited at the Biennial of Print-Arts, Museum of Fine Arts, India, in 2001 to 2003, Bronx Museum, New York in 2000 and 1997. Awarded an Outstanding Achievement Award in Studio Arts and Pratt Circle Award in 1996 at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York. Also received a De Forest Grant at Pratt Institute for a year 1994-95. Received a B.F.A. in Printmaking in 1991 at National College of Arts in Lahore, Pakistan. Awarded a four-year Merit Scholarship at National College of Arts from 1987 to 1991 and graduated with honors. Exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Boston, Japan, Republic of China, Taiwan, India, Sweden and Pakistan. Art work in permanent collection of The World Bank Gallery, Washington, D.C., The Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York, and The Print Department, New York Public Library, New York. Various private collections in Korea, Pakistan, New York, Germany and Japan.

Artist's Statement (Series: Broken Borders)
  
In my everyday life, my escape is in the creative power of art. I am primarily a visual person and am always observing images and ideas which have yet to take form. That was the case for my new series of images to memorialize the changing events to the world geography. My work has always been a mirror of my culture in which I live and through my work, I express my joy, pain, desire and triumphs. As I try to come to understand with the unspeakable events of the existing world, my drawings reflect the outpouring of grief, loss and the ultimate destruction of our world. The drawings are the visual expression of my own feelings to the tragedy of the broken borders and I believe they serve to express what we've all been feeling as we come to the reality that our world has changed forever.
  
Broken Borders - a series of ten mixed media drawings is the first in a series of works conceptually based on the metaphysical aspects of tormented world. I attempted to explore different mediums and materials pertaining to my concept. It is an attempt to represent the current world as far as symbolism is concerned. The symbol of stitches - central to the concept of connecting, normally has a positive association, but has a contradictory value when placed in this context. In short, it is a study of symbolic dualities. In a way this work cannot be separated from the rest of my work, but is viewed as a separate series. Stylistically it contains elements from printmaking to Indian miniature art. I used everything from collage to ink and drawing.
  
For one thing, doing these drawings has taught me that there are whole realms of world changing and breaking apart endeavor which we tend to ignore - not from intention, but simply because none of us on the existing team know all that much about the subject. Other subjects (like public health and green energy) we do our best to cover, but we know that we're missing some great and important story of our world's existence.
  
The world has changed; I see this new world through the eyes of my childhood. The world that was one, the haven that ensured us one of the things we prize most highly - existence. It was the sure place, the place next to our survival. Consciousness of being at peace in one's country or land produces a sense of existence, and this in turn radiates life.
  
Currently the world is an unsettling, loveless and even threatening place. This is because we have alienated his audience. The very disturbing feeling which the society depicts has notionally beaten - not a sense of joyful anticipation.
  
The price of material happiness is the sacrifice of the most blessed words of our culture: "motherhood", "home", "family", "freedom", even "love". The exchange yields an unexciting happiness that's unworthy of the name. Its suggestion arouses our unease and distaste.
  
There is a map of the world in the lines and stitches that I draw on these papers. And, I have seen a few new lines on these drawings that appeared to chart a new world. Let's build the world again for us and all the others who lost it. Cultivate love and peace and start living all over again.