Bani Abidi
Karachi Series 1 (Ken DeSouza, 7:42pm, 25th August 2008, Ramadan, Karachi)
The threshold in contemporary Pakistan between the security of private life and the increasingly violent and unpredictable public sphere is represented in Abidi’s 2009 series Karachi. These staged photographs were shot against the backdrop of the city’s empty streets at sundown during the holy month of Ramadan. During this time, Muslims fast and retreat indoors, leaving the city eerily empty. By portraying ordinary citizens from religious minorities, the photographs reclaim the occupation of public space. Domestic gestures are brought forward and presented in the streets. By being so specific about the times and locations where they were shot, Abidi tests the political potentials of these everyday gestures.
In Karachi Series 1 (Ken DeSouza, 7:42pm, 25th August 2008, Ramadan, Karachi), the man in white shirt is polishing his shoes without further revealing his identity. Presented in lightboxes, their backlit luminosity exaggerates the absurdity and strangeness of these images.
Bani Abidi’s practice deals heavily with political and cultural relations between India and Pakistan; she has a personal interest in this, as she lives and works in both New Delhi and Karachi. The artist’s subject matter ranges from border tensions to immigration conflicts, cultural diversity, and the relationship between private and public space. She works in the media of video, photography, and drawing.