I thought I'd uplift my mood by posting one image every day of women artists I have worked with or on. Starting with the love of my life, the OG Pakistani modernist, Zubeida Agha (1922-1997). This portrait was shot by Z. D. Barni in 1950 and is part of my archival research.

2. Most people know Lala Rukh (1948-2017) as a powerhouse feminist/original WAF; For 17 years, I knew her as a brilliant artist, thoughtful mentor, beloved friend. In contrast to her fiery activism, her work was minimalist, quiet & musical - nobody in Pakistan made work like her.

3. I knew about her for far longer before I got to write about her or when I lead a poetry-narrated tour of an exhibition of hers. Zarina [Hashmi] (1937-2020) was based in NY but her life's work remembered migration & the home she left behind/lost to the partition Ketaki Sheth

4. For 4yrs I did PR for firecracker Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian (1922-2019) whose "mirror-encrusted geometric compositions (& drawings) drew on both Islamic architecture and the abstractions of the postwar New York avant-garde" (NYT). Her wit + zest + cajones made her shine.

Bonus images - because both my TL and I need some serious cheering up. I wish I had some of her tenacity to get me through some of these dark days.

Got to write about another fav: Nasreen Mohammedi (1937–1990). Her work is perhaps best described as abstract minimalism and fits well with the modernists’ pictorial concerns, but it doesn't necessarily fit neatly within the western definition of this term.Richard Bartholomew

In her 20s NM was diagnosed w/ Huntington’s disease. She struggled w/ disorientation, shakiness, loss of motor abilities–and also with the idea that her life had an unavoidable & foreseeable end. She described it in her diary as: ‘The terror that underlines every breath of mine.’

No. 5 was Nasreen Mohamedi. I forgot to add the number & also added an accidental extra M in her last name. Someone needs to wake me up from this warped speed dream sluggishness. The next post (for later today) is one I deeply enjoyed writing about: desi sci-fi art + lit fusion

6. In '16, I wrote about Chitra Ganesh's work exploring feminist imagery (acknowledging & challenging a monolithic Indian feminine ideal) and the influence of scifi literature (esp desi) on her work. Image: Architects of the Future - Away from the Watcher, 2014

Bonus images. Part goddess, part street urchin, the figures fit into a unique universe of fantasy, horror and ecstatic dreamscapes. P.s. also look up her work on Sultana's Dream (desi scifi lovers know what that's about!)

7. I interviewed Sonia Andrade (b.1935) at her retrospective (1974–1993)-we chatted quite ok (imo) in broken English & Portuguese. A feminist and one of the pioneers of video art in Brazil, her work expands to drawing, photography, installation & mail art. She's also just v. cool

The exhibition was at the Centro Municipal de Arte Hélio Oiticica - a neoclassical building in historic downtown Rio. Afterwards, when I couldn't find a bus going home, the septuagenarian (whattay word) spotted me on the roadside and drove me to the central station in her car

I took a 2 day break from this thread - because I can. And because all I wanted to do this weekend was water my plants and sit in the sun and become the shade of deep gawlden brown that Lahori aunties absolutely hate. More posts coming though...

8. Back in '07 Vidha Saumya came to Lahore from Mumbai in search of a place she had only read about (she loved Manto, Ismat Chughtai, Asghar Wajahat) and stayed on for almost a year. She made crazy drawings, wrote fantastical stories+poetry, took photos, & I loved talking to her.

9. Sarah Ahmed Mumtaz's performances are centred around deeply personal narratives of physicality, sexuality and social stigmas that surround the physical impairment to her legs as a result of Cerebral Palsy. These images are from her '12 thesis performance, NCA. Nashmia Haroon

I needed a bit of a break. The world was collapsing and even I couldn't find solace in my little art bubble. But some more stuff coming for this thread this week. More love for my excellent old ladies in art.