How To Ruin a Historical Building
Th current body of work came about spontaneously as I was thrust into Saddar (one of the oldest most historical parts of Karachi) for a one month teaching assignment at a college in the area. My daily drives back and forth made me look over and over again at the buildings the area which is one of the largest business hubs of the city. Old victorian style structures flanked with new billboards and shop signs- a world within a world within yet another world. It looks old, feels vintage but the jarring signs of modernity still scream at you.
I wonder what would happen if we peeled away these signs of modernisation? I wondered what would happen in another 10 years when more layers would appear on this hidden gems that were created with such precision more than a century ago. This lead me to questions about identity, both lost and found and how, as Pakistani’s, 70 years down the line, we are still trying to figure out how to make the best of the past, retain it and yet mould it into a future that makes us distinct.
