In Nooks of Power, artist Sophiya Khwaja employs unicorns, humour and mixed media to investigate the sources of individual strength and authority, whether in an intrapersonal setting or in a social and professional environment.
The exhibition at Tashkeel’s Alserkal Avenue gallery, Dubai, marks Khwaja’s first solo show in the UAE. It comes after an 18-month Critical Practice Programme at Tashkeel. Khwaja spent the duration of the programme self-reflecting and “weeding out mental junk” as she deconstructed her artistic practice and built it anew.
“I would classify this as an introspective journey,” Khwaja says of her time in the programme. “It made me really interested in where I am as a person or how I place myself as a person.”
The artist, who is also the chief executive of a marketing agency with offices in the UAE and Pakistan, became fascinated with where people draw their sense of agency and authority from, especially during conversations and arguments.
“When I’m having an interaction with somebody, where do I stand in that conversation? Do I have an authority on the subject I am speaking about with that person?” she says.
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“When you are arguing with a person and you think you are right, what are those small things within ourselves that we can use to our advantage so that we have the power to convince.”
Khwaja looked inward for answers. She identified herself as Specimen No 1, dissecting aspects in herself to see where her own sense of authority came from. The works in the exhibition depict her process. Made on paper using a range of materials from pastels, acrylics, collages and thread, the works blend digital and tactile approaches to depict Khwaja’s ruminations during her tenure at Tashkeel.
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